


Greyscale Book 1

by Khaleesi13



Category: Original Work
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-07-01 04:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 58,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15766914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khaleesi13/pseuds/Khaleesi13
Summary: There are six of them. Six kids. Born with psychic powers. Born with enhanced physiology.They shouldn't exist.They're too powerful, too dangerous.Only two have been identified. Locked up for their crimes.And now, they're trying to get free. Trying to fulfill whatever evil goal they have in mind. So many unanswered questions. A dark path, with no end in sight. Not everything is as it seems. And every minute, the world becomes a more dangerous place. But it might just be cruel enough-- chaotic enough for some to step out of the shadows.





	1. Prologue

Life isn’t easy when you are not supposed to exist.

Thirty seven years ago, world was hellhole.  Let me go back farther before I launch into all of this shit.

I am honestly not sure _when_ it happened.  Nations of world joined together under one presidential rule.  In my opinion, it is basically world domination. But each country was still governed by their own laws and rulers, just united under one president. Do not ask me how it works, I don’t do politics.  Guns have also been completely outlawed, and destroyed. There are still some private arms dealers out there that distribute guns to criminals though. All of our law enforcement fights with swords and knives, like in medieval times.  The system worked for little bit.

And then, things went downhill. Fast. Lot of crime on the streets, in every country.  Violent crimes. Everyone was terrified. Scared to go outside ( _cowards_ ), constantly worried about their loved one’s getting hurt.  So good President Walter Hart, at ripe age of eighteen, had brilliant idea. And I say brilliant with utmost sarcasm. He worked with his friend Savio, who has unreal amount of doctorate degrees.  I think he is basically walking encyclopedia at this point. Like, that man is genius. But I’m getting off topic again.

So Savio and Hart decided to work together and they literally made heroes.  Or originals as some people call them. They sent out world wide application, selected some people, trained them, ran _experiments_ on them.  They ended up with twenty nine (one of them died during experiment I think) heroes with enhanced abilities. Whole freaking nine yards.  Enhanced speed, strength, endurance, resistance to injuries and illnesses. And if that was not enough, they also had psychic powers.

In addition, government created two new sections of law enforcement.

First section are called Superior Enforcement officers. Think Navy Seal caliber. They are highly trained and specialized, only called in as last ditch efforts.  Easily recognized by uniforms. Criminals developed healthy fear of them.

In addition to SE’s, as they are usually called, he created another branch.  Freelance agents, picking up miscellaneous projects here and there. They are called Independent Special Agents, or I-S-A’s.  Very talented, go through specialized school. They usually work with one other person, their partner. They worked closely with heroes for whole one freakin year that heroes were on streets for.

Then things got bad.  One of originals went off rails.  Did own thing. Killed people for revenge.  Did not follow government’s strict rules and regulations.  More power to them, if you ask me. Hart was not happy about that.  He ended up arresting all of originals. Even though twenty-eight of them did absolutely nothing wrong.  Hart has no brain, I swear.

He locked them up in special prison built just for them.  Some element was put in walls: element that blocked their powers.  But not all of originals turned themselves in. Seven of them stayed on run.

Then, horrible “accident”.  I doubt it was accident. How does prison, with twenty two super-powered individuals, suddenly explode?  It was definitely rigged. There is just no way that President got all of his problems solved because of gas leak.  

And he wasn’t done.  Stupid Hart sent his S-E’s after those seven heroes who were still roaming streets.  It took years, almost twenty years, for them to hunt down all seven of originals. It was sixteen years ago when last one died.  

But there were some left behind.  Six of them actually. Because in those nineteen years of looking and hunting down originals, some of heroes fell in love. Started families. And when they died, those kids were left alone. They had to grow up by themselves, hide their capabilities. They are called next generation originals, or nex-gens.  No one knows what kind of powers they have. They're not supposed to exist, and ISA's are dedicated and devoted to hunting them down and locking them up.

The world only knows of two of these nex-gens. Carla Satoni and Chang Xeiu. Those two, fuckin jackasses.  They have been locked up in prison for over decade. Various accounts of murder, torture, plotting to overthrow government and kill president. Which honestly is not bad idea.  Scary thing is that these two, they would take power for themselves. That would have been horrible thing.  They are pretty sadistic when they want to be. And they  _always_ want to be.

That is most of it.  At least, important stuff.  I just have to stay hidden.  Not get dragged into this mess.  Not fall into old habits, old temptations.  It is like I said: life is challenging when you are not supposed to exist.  

  



	2. Chapter 1 скрытый

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And first chapter, here we go. This is the introduction to the MAIN character. Her storyline is the driving plot behind this whole series I'm working on, even though it doesn't seem like it at first.

 

Gleaming metal comes rushing towards her face. Nika ducks easily under the strike, blocking another blade coming from her left simultaneously. She backs up, analyzing her opponents. Joel charges forward, Travis circling behind. Nika blocks his blade, kicks him backwards, turns and disarms Travis with a well timed maneuver. Joel is charging back in.

The same tactics as normal. Nika crouches down, knocks Travis to the ground. Kicks his blade out of the way. Grabs Joel’s arm, flips him over to the ground. She stands back as they both hurry to their feet.

It’s easy from there. Nika jumps into action before either can recover, a knife pressed against each of their throats in an instant. They’re both out of breath, breathing hard.  Nika feels great. She didn’t even break a sweat during the session.

“Looks like I win again.” She smirks, her Russian accent heavy.  She had tried to develop an American accent when she moved here almost four years ago,  but it wasn't worth it.  It had taken long enough to learn how to speak English, and besides, she was proud of her heritage. “Can you at least make it little challenging for me?” She jokes out.  Partially serious though.  She needs the hard fights. 

Joel walks past her, scoops his sword up off the ground.

Travis shakes his head, a smile forming on his face. “I honestly don’t know how you do it.”

Nika raises her eyebrows at him, still wearing her signature, arrogant smirk.  “Practice makes perfect my dear.”

Joel still looks annoyed as he goes to put his sword away on the shelf.  “Why do you spar with us if you just kick our ass every time?”

Nika shrugs, “Wanna go again? I can go weaponless.  I mean, I’ll still win… but worth shot right?”

“You really need to work on that confidence of yours.  You’re seriously lacking in it.” Joel retorts, his annoyance fading.  He’s too impressed with her skill to ever stay annoyed for long.

Travis walks back over.  “Do you really want to go again Kira? It’s only been two hours.”

Nika shakes her head, wiping her knives off with a cloth before sheathing them and putting them in her bag.  “Not tonight. I need to go study. My last exam is tomorrow.”

“Still trying to get into med school?” Joel asks.

Nika nods, “All of my application materials are in.  I just need to pass now.” She turns and looks over at Joel, “Oh and Joel, to answer your question.  I train with you two because you’re the best of best. I searched for long time before I found good training partners.  I may beat you every single time, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for me. I always learn lot when we’re here.” It wasn’t exactly true.  Two on one was so easy for her. Five on one is what she really needs to work on. But Nika has never been beaten in a fair fight, and she plans to keep her track record going.  

Thankfully Joel seems satisfied with her answer.  “So tomorrow then? Same time?”

Nika finishes taking the wraps off her hands, tossing them in the trash.  She picks up her bag and slings it over her shoulder, “I’ll see you guys then!”

* * *

Nika gets home and instantly opens up her notes.  She needs to look over things for her last exam.  Taylor isn't home yet, so she blasts her music as she starts studying. 

A couple hours later and she sighs, bored with it.  She _knew_ everything.  But she also wasn’t going to risk messing up her final exam.  Maybe a break would help her focus some more.

She opens up her computer, starts to click through her emails.  No acceptance letters yet. She’s about to shut it down when another email comes in. The subject line is in Russian.

Nika double clicks on the mail and it opens up full screen. The entire letter is written in a Russian.  She reads through the first paragraph and rolls her eyes instantly. “I don’t have time to deal with this.” she grumbles under her breath.

“Deal with what?” A voice from the front door catches Nika off guard.  She twists around in her seat. Her roommate has just walked in through the front door, hands full of groceries.  

She tries to quickly recover from the shock.  “Hey Taylor.” She greets her friend, trying to be casual, stay relaxed, “It’s nothing, just old acquaintance reaching out to me.  Did you need some help with those?”

“Yes please.” Taylor says as she walks and plops the bags on the counter.  “I thought you were studying tonight.” Taylor says as soon as Nika joins her.

“Please, I know everything.” Nika retorts cooly.

“Oh, by the way.” Taylor walks behind her, heading towards the pantry. “Did you see the news?”

Nika stops what she’s doing, shoving down the icy chill creeping through her veins.   _There’s no way anyone could have figured it out, just breath._ “Nyet.” Nika says, almost hesitantly, “Why, what’s going on?”

“It’s everywhere.  On every station. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it yet.”

Nika glares over at her, voice heavy with sarcasm, “Alright bitch listen up. I’ve been pretty busy doing other things today. I don’t have time to sit down and hear bullshit that’s going on with idiotic government.”

Taylor flashes her a look, half annoyed, half amused.  “This is like, a legit thing though, bitch. Not some stupid politics. Apparently some gang tried to break out two high security prisoners.”

Nika drops a box of pasta on the ground. Shit shit shit. It couldn’t have been them.  It can’t be. She starts asking questions in a rapid fire mode, “Wait, did they mention who two were? Why did they try to break them out? Was gang responsible arrested?”

Thank God Taylor doesn’t pick up on Nika’s raised anxiety.  “They didn’t mention any names. But all of the rogues got away. Apparently once they figured out that they were gonna lose, they ran for it.”

“But they didn’t say who it was? Any names? Anything?”

Taylor turns to look at her, confused, “Why do you care so much? But to answer your question, no. Just that they’re seriously bad news. Been locked up for over a decade. They’re apparently highly dangerous and security has been heightened.” She finishes.

Nika puts the last grocery item away in the fridge and grabs out a beer. She pops the top off.  Her heart is racing a little. It’s been eleven years. She’s _not_ getting dragged into this one.  She can’t. _Unless they do get out……_

Taylor blinks at her, still baffled over what’s going on.  “You’re drinking at two in the afternoon?”

Nika turns to give her a cold glare.  She gives off a perfect evil ten. Between her narrow grey eyes, arched eyebrows, sharp face, and upturned nose, Nika has the perfect death glare.  Taylor backs down almost instantly, “What’s your point?” Nika snaps in response to her question.

“I’m just saying.  You still have another final.  We should probably study some more.”

Nika basically chugs down the first bottle.  That didn’t last. What a disappointment. She looks back to Taylor, “Screw studying.  It’s boring. I’m just gonna drink for bit and then sleep.”

“Do you know something I don’t?”

Nika tries to keep her anger under control.  A quick glance out the window, and Nika can confirm that she _is_ still in control.  “Nope. I don’t know anything.”

Taylor isn’t convinced, “Are you lying?”

Nika ignores the question again, “Where was this breakout attempt at?”

“Somewhere on the east coast.” Taylor replies, “The President is sending one of his kids as a sort of diplomat to work with law enforcement. Hopefully they can bring in the gang before things get out of hand.”

“It’s already out of hand.”

Taylor gives her another side look, “Don’t you trust our president?”

Nika laughs at that.  Literally laughs at how amusing it is.  “Trust government? Please, I’m not that naive.”

Nika goes to the fridge and grabs out another beer. Taylor walks by the table to the TV. Nika is just pulling off the cap to her bottle when she notices Taylor stop in front of her computer.  Seems like her roommates curiosity got the better of her.

“Hey Kira, who’s Nikita?” Taylor asks, intrigued.

How dare Taylor snoop on her computer?  It takes quite a bit of effort for Nika to shove down her anger.  She walks over in an instant, shouldering past her friend. Thank God, Taylor can’t read Russian.  She slams her computer shut, scooping it into her hands. Then the younger woman turns and glares at Taylor; she’s absolutely furious.  “None of your damn business that’s who.” She snaps at Taylor.

Taylor can’t seem to keep her interest under control, and it’s really starting to piss Nika off when she starts talking again.  “But I just saw…”

Nika cuts her off before she can finish, “I said butt out.”

Taylor rushes to defend herself, “Sorry, I just saw it and I thought it was weird. It’s in some strange language too.”

“Don’t fucking snoop in my stuff Taylor.  Nika is absolutely furious. It’s none of her goddamn business, so why would she be looking through it.  

Nika shoulders past her friend, trying not to lash out at her anymore.  “I’m going to finish this in here.” And then Nika stomps to her room, slamming the door behind her.  She lays back on her bed, she’s anxious, on edge. She knows _exactly_ who those two were.  And soon she’s getting dragged back into the fight.  It’s only a matter of time….

* * *

Nika walks along the sidewalk, heading back to her apartment.  She was training much later than she planned today. She had ended up locking up Travis’s gym at the end of the day: both Joel and Travis had to go home early.  Nika has been obsessively training since the attempted breakout two days ago. There was no recent news on what was happening across the pond. It was worrisome.  She trying to focus on school-- she would be leaving for grad school in a month or two. But it’s hard to do that when she’s completely distracted by the shit going down in London.

It’s dark out, and windy.  Nika has been doing a fairly good job of keeping herself under control, considering the whirl of emotions she was currently experiencing.  

Nika suddenly freezes, sensing something.  Someone is behind her. She turns in a flash, hand flying to her side where she kept one of her knives.  Before she can pull the knife out and send it flying towards the man, he jumps out of the shadows, laughing.  

“Oscar! What fuck is your problem?” she snaps out, furious at him.  He walks towards her, still laughing in amusement. He leans in like he’s expecting a kiss.   _Like hell._ She shoves her boyfriend out of the way, still mad.  

He’s too amused for his own good: Nika can feel her lip curling into a sneer of annoyance.

“I can’t believe I actually scared you! You’ve been on edge lately.”

Nika gives him a cold look, “I’m well trained in self defense, and you know it. Was that really your smartest move?” That fuckin idiot.  If she didn’t look before she attacked, Oscar would be dead on the ground right now.

He nods, looking thoughtful.  Men are so stupid, “Sorry, sorry. You’re right. I was just wondering if you wanted to come back to my place? Hang out, celebrate finishing your last exam? Maybe a little more…” He winks at her.

Nika rolls her eyes.  Like she would forgive him that quickly.  She crosses her arms, still glaring coldly at him, “Nyet.”

“Oh come on.  Just an hour?”

“I said _no.”_ She hisses out, “Don’t make me hit you.  I’m going home.”

“Fine, fine. I get it. So next week?” Oscar tries, giving her an innocent smile.

“If you don’t piss me off.”

“I’ll do my best.”Oscar leans in for a kiss once more, but Nika turns on her heels and walks away. He’s probably disappointed.  Good. They’ve been together for two years. He should know not to come at her like that. Oscar can be so stupid sometimes. She turns down a street that is poorly lit. More movement in the shadows.  

“Oh come on.” Nika grumbles, hand going to her side once more.  “Oscar I swear to fuckin God I will stab you.”

A different man steps out of the shadows.  He’s holding a knife. A dangerous gleam in his eyes.  “Let me make this real simple for you darling.” He starts out, holding the knife towards her, threatening her.  A poor move on his part, “Give me everything you have.”

It’s so amusing that he thinks he can actually hurt her.  Nika’s face breaks into a smile. What a dumbass. He has no idea what he’s getting into.  It’s been almost a year since she’s gotten to have some fun.

Nika is bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, anger turning to excitement at the promise of a fight, “Oh my gosh. This is amazing. College campus. Full of easy to rob individuals.”

The man takes a few steps closer, the cruel look in his eyes battling with confusion at her reaction to his threats, “Wallet. Now. I’ve killed before for what I want. Don’t make me ask again.”

Nika laughs, shaking her head in amusement, “You are like poster child for bad luck. I mean. You’re gonna try to rob me? Me? I’m going to give you one chance because I’m just so amused by this. Turn around and walk away.”

The stupid man takes a threatening step forward, his knife aimed at her chest. “I warned you not to make me ask again.”

“And I’m warning you. Last chance. Get away from me.” _Or I will kill you._ She adds silently.

“What are you gonna do? I’m a trained martial artist. I take what I want.” The man doesn’t believe her.  Of course he doesn’t believe her. It’s not like she has broad-shoulders and very toned muscles…. No one took her seriously because she was a short, pretty girl.  But she’s not petite. She’s muscular, fit, athletic. But she’s a she. So no one believes that Nika has skill. She’ll just have to show him then.

The man lunges forward, slashing with his knife. Nika side steps easily. The man turns around again, and runs at her a second time. This time, Nika grabs his wrist and twists it hard. There’s a snap. The man screams and drops the knife, he stumbles away from her, clutching his now broken wrist.

Nika is no longer smiling. Her eyes are stony and she looks furious. He didn’t take her warning.  He still fuckin attacked her. She wants nothing more than to kill him now.

The man looks up at her in shock, clutching his wrist.  “Who the hell are you?” he gasps out through the pain.

Nika doesn’t answer. Instead she takes a few steps towards the man. He’s cornered. Good. She closes the distance, and goes on the attack. She slams her fist into the side of his face, before kicking him harshly in the gut. He falls over and try to scramble away. She lands one more hard kick in his ribs.

“I did warn you, didn’t I?”

“You’re an I-S-A aren’t you?” he growls out.  

Nika kneels down next to him, casually pulling out her knife.  She rests it against his throat. He stops moving. A shame he didn’t put up more of a fight.  That was too easy. Nika likes a good fight much more than an easy beatdown. “I don’t work for anyone, except myself. I especially don’t work for government.”

“What kind of a villain are you?”

Funny that he calls her a villain.  She wasn’t quite on that level. “I’m not exactly villain either.”

He lets out a harsh laugh, “Really? Because your knife at my throat is sending a different message.”

Nika sneers down at him. “Oh don’t tempt me. You would be impressed by my resume.”

He looks taken aback by that news.  A pretty, 20 year old, a killer? No one ever expects to hear that.  “You’ve killed before?” He says, shocked.

Nika doesn’t answer. She shouldn’t kill him.  She really shouldn’t. With a growl of annoyance, she raises the knife up.  He instantly tosses his hands in front of his face, trying to protect himself.  Nika slams the knife down into his upper arm, his scream echoing through the alley.  “You might want to go to hospital. Turn yourself in. I don’t think you want to run into me again.”

“What if I turned you in?”

“It’s dark, you wouldn’t be able to make positive ID on me even if you wanted to.  And besides, it was self defense.” Nika states coldly. “You have nothing on me.” She turns and walks away, heading to the end of the alley.  She pauses once more, glancing back. The man is clutching his arm, looking shaken. Good. He deserved it. She slides the knife back into her jacket, making a mental note to clean and sharpen it when she’s home.  Then she continues her walk home.

* * *

It's a couple days later when her boyfriend comes over.  She had promised him a date and more.  And they were having a good time.  Nika laughs as she reaches across the table, grabbing the drink from Oscar.  “Yeah, I just finished and turned test in. And literally everyone in room was giving me angry glare.  Next person out of room was twenty five minutes behind me, according to Taylor.”

Oscar is sitting across from her at the table.  Drinking and celebrating the end to exams. Her boyfriend only had the two exams for his masters.  “Well congratulations on finishing undergrad.” He says, smiling at her.

“Hey now.” She says, raising her eyebrows, “Don’t congratulate me until I get accepted into med school.”

“You’re going to get accepted.  You’re the smartest person on campus.” He tries to reassure her.

Nika nods, “Well of course I am.” She agrees, “Oh, I forgot to tell you.  There’s party next weekend too. All of pre-meds are going out, hitting up clubs.  You should come. I plan on getting very, very drunk.”

Oscar looks at her thoughtfully, “That is always a selling point.”

“I figured I should invite you.  I need to get you doing something little fun.  You’re mister killjoy over here.”

“Last time I tried to have fun, you got pissed at me.”

Nika gives him a pointed look, “Don’t jump out at me in dark then unless you want broken nose.”

He shrugs, “Fair enough.  So a party is going to make me more fun, that your thought process?”

Nika takes another drink, “Dear god I hope so.” she grumbles, joking.

“Hey, I know how to have a good time.” He defends himself.

Nika raises her eyebrows at him, “Romantic-” She air quotes that word, “Dinner date isn’t fun.  Literally all we’re doing is drinking and talking.”

He gives her a pouty look, “Hey, we enjoy each other’s company. And besides, Taylor is gone all night.  

Nika nods, ignoring his words, “I could be sparring with Joel and Travis.”

Oscar pretends like he can’t hear her, “There’s this lovely bedroom nearby.”

Nika talks over him, “After stressful exam week it would be nice to get some more training in.”

“It’s not like there’s this amazing recreational activity we could be doing right here.” Oscar hints, bantering back.

She continues to ignore him, musing out loud, “It’s always good to stay on top of your skills. If you want to maintain your reputation as excellent fighter.”

Oscar raises his hands, faking exasperation.  “I’m just saying. A few yards away. Great workout.”

She knows exactly what he wants.  It’s fun to mess around with him though, “I have feeling we’re not on same page right now.”

“Oh come on.  You know you want to.” He presses. Nika ignores him.  She just stands up and grabs her drink, turning her back and walking briskly away towards her room. Oscar looks confused for a moment before things click. “Wait so is that?”

Nika doesn’t even bother to turn her head.  She knows he’s following her, “Yes, dumbass.” she retorts.

“Hell yes.” Oscar says excitedly, springing to his feet.  Nika rolls her eyes, both amused and slightly annoyed.

As soon as he comes in the room, Nika sets her drink down, pulls her shirt off.  Then she grabs him close and starts to kiss him. Oscar was right, would be fun after a stressful week.  They move to the bed almost instantly, Nika wraps her arms around his neck, impatient now that they’ve started. She pulls his shirt off, leans in again, but he’s pulling away.

“Is something wrong?” She asks slowly, confused.  He literally spent most of the night hinting at this, and now he’s pulling away? Men.

“No, no. It’s nothing. Nothing that you’ve done Kira.  You’re gorgeous like normal.” He’s stammering the words out.   _What is his problem?_ She reaches towards her shirt on the ground, but he stops her, “I’ll be right back okay? I’m just gonna grab us a couple more drinks.”

“I don’t need another…” She breaks off as he hurries out of her room.   “Way to kill mood.” She grumbles, standing up. What was he up to?

Nika follows him down the hall, moving quietly. He’s acting too suspicious for her liking. She peers into the living room, just as Oscar sits down at the table and grabs her laptop, sliding a small jump drive into the side. _That son of a bitch._ He starts typing away furiously, casting glances over his shoulder. After a minute, he pulls out the jump drive and slips it into his pocket, closing the laptop. Nika glares after him as he jumps to his feet and head to the kitchen. She moves quickly, back to the bedroom. Mind racing. What was he looking for? There’s no way he could have figured out who she was, right? She’s furious. How dare he go through her stuff like that.

He comes back into the room just as Nika is pulling a robe on.  

“Hey, weren’t we?” He breaks off, looking confused.  Nika picks his shirt up off the ground and tosses it to him.  She’s trying hard to keep her anger under control, to not lash out.  She can’t until she knows more.

“Change of plans.” Nika says curtly, “Something came up. You can leave now.”

“But I thought…” Nika ignores him.  She starts to walk past him, heading to the closet, but Oscar grabs her arm.  Her eyes flash up at him. _How dare he?_ “Hey, Kira.  We had plans.  Don’t just fuckin bail on them.  It’s not fair to me.”

“Let go of me.  Now.” She says slowly, giving him a dangerous look; a warning.  

He holds on for a moment longer, before letting go.  She yanks her arm back to her side.  She's livid.  “What the hell is your problem?” He snaps out, as he pulls his shirt back on.  He’s mad now too. So much for not lashing out.

“Get out.  Now.” Nika snaps in response.  Oscar gives her another disbelieving look, before turning and heading out of her room, down the hall.  

Nika can hear him muttering under his breath, “Fuckin bipolar bitch, why do I even bother staying with you?”

She grabs a water bottle on her nightstand and whips it at him: that _jackass_.  It hits him on the back of the head, hard enough to make him hiss in pain, and he hurries out the front door before she can throw anything else-- anything heavier.  Slamming it behind him. Nika sits down on the bed with an annoyed sigh, putting her head in her hands. _Damn it._ She’s on edge again.  What was he looking for? She swallows hard.  He can’t find out who she is. No one can. Not now.  Not ever. She’s not supposed to exist.

  
  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 2 Target

Ricky takes a long drink from his bottle, aware that Lukas is watching him closely.  Like he’s  _still_ worried that he’ll go off the rails.  He hasn’t had a drinking problem in four years now.  His old habits were gone. Thankfully, his partner doesn’t say anything, just takes a sip from his own drink.  

“When we getting paid for this one?” Lukas asks after a few more minutes of silence.

Ricky shrugs, “Hell if I know. They’ll send someone.”

“I wish we could get a challenging mission for once.” Lukas grumbles, leaning back in his seat.

Ricky has to agree.  Sure, they’ve only been working in the field for a little over five years, but they were the highest ranked agents in the world.  Their first mission together had been impossibly challenging. And they completed it with ease. Since then, their reputation only grew.  Luke was strategic. Smart, analyzing every last detail. Coming up with brilliant plans. In contrast, Ricky was the fighter. Ricky can usually do two against one and still win.  Fighting was so natural, so easy for him. And when you put the two together, battle skill and strategy, they made the perfect time. Nearly unbeatable. So far, they have never lost, never failed in a mission.

The TV catches his eye.  Ricky nudges Lukas, nodding up at the screen. The reporter is talking about an attempted breakout at the high security prison downtown.  Lukas gives him a look, before focusing on the TV. The reporter mentions the casualties: a few dead guards, and what exactly happened. A handful of rogues attempted to break out two high security prisoners.  No names are mentioned.

Ricky can’t help but be excited.  He turns to Lukas with a smile, “Now _that_ is a job!”

Lukas just shrugs, “Possibly.  Unless they send S-E’s to hunt down the rogues.”

“Actually, they want you.”

Ricky twists around instantly, shocked.  A gorgeous young woman, his age, is walking forward.  Tall, slender, dark-skinned, with curly black hair falling past her shoulders.  

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Lukas asks.

“I would hope so.” She slides into the seat next to Ricky.  “My name’s Sadie. Sadie Hart. My father sent me.”

“ _You’re_ Hart’s daughter?” Ricky says, shocked.  

She gives him a cold look, then turns to the bartender. She hands him a wad of cash, “Keep the change.” Then she stands up and jerks her head to the door, “Come on, I have to talk to you.”

Ricky looks over at his friend, trying to decide what to do.  Lukas is weighing the options. But if the President sent his own daughter here to talk with them, then things must be getting serious.  It would be stupid to ignore a direct order from the president himself. Lukas seems to come to the same conclusion.

“Let’s go see what she wants.  If it’s a job, it’s money. Could be fun too.” He decides.  Ricky just nods in agreement and follows his friend out back.  Sadie is waiting for them. Ricky can’t seem to stop staring at her.  She really is beautiful.

“So, what have you learned about the attempted escape?” She begins as soon as they’re all out back, in the small alley.  

Ricky takes the lead this time, explaining what they just saw on the TV, “Not much. There was an explosion. A few dead guards, two high security prisoners, lots of rogues. That’s about it.”

Lukas jumps into the conversation as well, “Who are they? If we’re going to work with you, we need proof that you’ll actually be helpful.”

Sadie hesitates, as if she was trying to decide what all to say.  Ricky raises his eyebrows, silently pressing her for answers. There’s no way he’s charging blindly into this case without more information.  Sadie finally gives in, nodding, “The two prisoners are Carla Satoni and Chang Xieu. They’re Nex-gens. Unknown powers.”

The names don’t mean anything to Ricky.  He’s never heard of them. If it was eleven years ago, he was barely a teenager.  Of course he wouldn’t know the names of criminals on the street back then. But Lukas turns his head sharply at the names. What was that about?

Sadie doesn’t seem to notice.  But Ricky did. Does his partner know something about the two prisoners? “A little over a decade ago, they had a large following of individuals and they tried to overthrow the government. No one knows the truth really, but apparently some of their followers changed their mind.” Sadie informs them.

Ricky gives his friend a weird look, before turning his attention back to Sadie, “What do you mean by that?”

Sadie shrugs, like she’s not exactly sure what to say. “Well the two were both found, knocked out in some alley in Russia-- of all places. Some anonymous good samaritan called up the SE's. My father arrested them, brought them in to trial.”

Lukas shifts uncomfortably after hearing that.  What did his friend know that he didn’t? “I’m assuming they were found guilty?” Lukas questions.

“Well obviously.” Sadie retorts.

Ricky has more questions, but he doesn’t really want to ask them.  The woman was the President’s daughter, sent on a mission. But it took him a long time to trust others.  “Why does the President want us? Out of all people?”

“You have the reputation.” Sadie says, matter-of-factly.  “My father wants the best on the job. He wants to keep it under the radar.  Set up a safehouse that we can work out of.”

“We?” Ricky interrupts her.

“Yes.  We. I was sent as a diplomat.  I’m skilled with computers and technology.  I am very useful.” Sadie responds, still cool and calm despite the open hostility. 

“Fine.  We’ll come with you to this…. Safehouse.” Lukas gets out.  

“Wait, I didn’t agree to this yet.” Ricky snaps back.

“Too bad.  I can’t do this without you.  There are at least five of these stupid rogues.”

“It’s because I’m such a badass fighter, isn’t it?” Ricky smirks over at his friend.

“Well, actually, I know someone who could beat you with ease.” Luke grumbles

“Oh yeah? Who would that be?”

Lukas is silent after that, ignoring his question.  There was _not_ a single person who could beat Ricky in a fair fight.  He proved his skill over and over again. Once again, he gets that weird feeling that Lukas is hiding something from him.  Which doesn’t make any sense. He was roommates with Lukas throughout their six years of ISA training. And they’ve spent five years in the field together now.  They were practically brothers at this point, and they didn’t hide anything from each other.

“Anyway.” Sadie says slowly, after a long pause, “Do you have anything with you? We should get going.”

The two men just nod, and turn to follow Sadie to her car.  Ricky is surprised with how normal it looks. Considering how rich and spoiled she probably was, he was expecting something much nicer.  They file in, putting their weapons in the back. Then Sadie starts up the car and heads down the road.

The drive is shorter than he expected.  They head out of the city, and get on some old, country road.  Sadie turns onto an unmarked road, then she pulls into a long gravel driveway.  The driveway is mostly hidden behind a line of trees. It leads to some old farmhouse.  Pretty nice digs, large, well-maintained.

Sadie explains a bit more as she pulls up to the house.  “So it’s fully stocked. The entire basement is a training room.  This house was actually designed for SE’s when they’re on missions.  So there’s food, water, extra weapons, a mini-hospital, and a big room full of computers and tracking systems.  But, no cameras.”

“No cameras?” Lukas questions.

“Yeah, it’s too easy to hack and track using camera systems.  My dad worries easy.”

She parks the car and goes to the trunk to get out the weapons.  Ricky notices it the instant that she leans forward to grab one of the bags from the back.

“Hey, wait.”

It’s too late.  Sadie has already grabbed the bag, pulling it towards her.  There is a small ping, a thin wire is snapped. It takes a moment for it to click in Ricky’s mind what that means.  Thankfully Lukas is a bit quicker on his feet.

“GET DOWN!” He yells, diving forward.  His friend wraps his arms around Sadie.  The woman is pulled away from the car. Ricky dives to the ground, wrapping his arms around his head to protect it.  He can hear-- rather than see-- the massive explosion that sends glass and pieces of the car flying everywhere. For a second there’s silence, except for the glass raining down around them.  Ricky dares to look up. The entire back half of the car is destroyed. He blinks up at it for a moment, before casting a glance over to Lukas and Sadie.

Lukas had tackled her to the ground to protect her from the shrapnel.  Minus a few cuts and bruises, his friend looked fine. He’s staring, wide-eyed in shock, at the wreckage.  Ricky stands up, pulls Lukas and Sadie to their feet. “I think it’s safe to say that we’re in trouble.” He mutters.  Lukas just nods in agreement.

“Inside.  Let’s go inside.  Now.” Ricky doesn’t argue.  He just follows Sadie into the house.  One last glance over his shoulder. Someone really didn’t want them on this case.  

* * *

A full week after the explosive went off, nearly killing the two agents and Sadie.  And now, nothing. No sign of the rogues, no clue on when their next attack will be.  Ricky hated what they were about to do, but they _did_ need help.  A stakeout from the previous day had revealed that there were over 20 of the stupid rogues.  Which meant that they were seriously outnumbered.

Ricky slides into the booth at their normal bar.  He’s already regretting that he agreed to his friend’s idea.  They both get waters, awkwardly sitting there and waiting for the help to arrive.  Lukas all of a sudden leans forward in the booth, waving his hand at two men who have just entered the building.   _Great._

Mitch and Aiden.  Two senior ISA’s. Aiden was basically their mentor through school.  But Mitch… Ricky _hated_ that guy.  And Mitch definitely returned the feelings.  

Aiden walks over, holding his hand out to Lucas.  Lucas smiles, greets his mentor.

“Aiden, thank you for coming.” He says politely.

Mitch doesn’t say anything, just slides into the booth next to Ricky.  Of course.

Aiden gives him a respectful nod.  “Been a long time you guys. I see you two haven’t changed much.”

“So, you getting a drink today Rick?” Mitch interrupts him as he opens his mouth to speak.  Ricky gives him a cold glare, ready for a harsh retort. But aiden interrupts him.

“Come on now Mitch, don’t be such a dick.” Aiden snaps, giving his younger brother a stern glare.

“Anyway,” Lukas jumps into the conversation, trying to break the building tension.  “We kind of got into a little bit of a-”

“Yeah, don’t tell them the details.” Ricky snaps.  They may need help, but not from someone like Mitch.

“Shut it Rick.” Lukas says curtly, leaving no room for discussion.  Ricky rolls his eyes away as Lukas explains the story, “Simply put, we’re working a case, and we might need a bit more on the numbers side.”

Mitch looks up, interested, “What sort of case?”

Lukas allows a hint of pride to enter his voice. “It’s actually under direct order of the president.”

Even Aiden looks shocked, and somewhat impressed with that.  “Wait, are you serious?”

Ricky nods, springing on the opportunity to rub his success in Mitch’s face. “Yeah he wanted the best-” he lingers over that word, “On the case.  Even sent his daughter to help us out.

Aiden nods, thoughtful.  “So what exactly is the new case?

Lukas launches into the explanation, “It’s that group of rogues, the ones who tried to break Carla and Chang out of prison. They want us to avoid a breakout, bring the rogues in.”

“That’s a huge job, and he only has two ISA’s on it?” Aiden seems slightly baffled by that.  

Ricky joins in, “He didn’t want to use SE’s, they stand out too much.  He’s trying to get all of this resolved under the radar.”

Luke continues the story, “And the problem is that we’re way outnumbered.  We need backup.”

Aiden raises his eyebrows, “And by backup, you mean other agents?”

“Exactly.” Lukas confirms.

“Just say the word and we’ll be there.”

Ricky blinks at him, somewhat shocked that he agreed to help so readily.  “That easy?”

“Even Mitch would have to agree that we still owe you.” Aiden says.

Ricky exchanges a look with Lukas, and then his friend nods.  “Well, okay then.” He starts. “We have an idea. Here’s what I need from you.”

* * *

In hindsight, this may not have been their smartest move.  

A couple days after meeting with Aiden and Mitch, and they finally ran into the rogues downtown. Ricky had gotten their attention, and they jumped in the car and swerved away. Lukas wasn't a fan of Ricky's insane idea, but he was going along with it at least. 

Ricky steps on the gas pedal, accelerating up to 100 mph.  Lukas is hanging on for dear life. “There’s only three of them.  We could take them, you know.” Ricky says, as he suddenly slams on the brakes, jerking the car around a turn.  

The rogues car is following them, chasing after them.  Ricky slows down a bit, letting the car pull up almost even with them.  He has an idea. Luke won’t like it.

“Send Aiden our location.” Ricky mutters.

Lukas sighs, knowing exactly what he’s about to do, “Don’t do it.” But his friend already has his phone out, firing off a quick text.

Ricky slows down even more, the rogues car matching their speed.  Then he hits the gas, turns the wheel sharply, cutting the rogues off.  Lukas grabs the door, trying to hold on from Ricky’s maniac driving. Then the agent slams on the brakes.  The rogues car slams into them from behind, rear-ending them. The airbags go off.

His friend gives Ricky an annoyed look.  Ricky just smiles in response. He quickly hands Lukas his sword, then grabs his own weapon.  “Now we get to have some fun.”

Lukas rolls his eyes again, but follows him out of the car, blades at the ready.  All three of the rogues are also filing out of their car. They look pissed.

“Do you have a death wish?” One of the men sneers, pulling out a short, sharp blade.

“You’re dead for this.” Another one of them growls, furious.

“You know.” Ricky glances down at his sword, trying to intimidate the men.  He has a reputation. They should be scared of him. “I’ve never been one for the playful banter before fights.”

Ricky doesn’t hesitate to charge forward.  He engages two of them, notices Lukas going at the third rogue.  He ducks under the strikes easy, analyzing their fight pattern. He’s getting in a few good hits of his own.  But they have the advantage of numbers. It’s hard for Ricky to truly gain an advantage and end the fight. He disarms one of them, and the second one is there in an instant to take his place.  

He can hear swords clashing behind him.  Luke is strongly fighting against the third rogue.  Even though they’re matched, skill-wise, it appears his friend has the advantage when it comes to endurance.  Good. They may not need Aiden after all.

Ricky steps in closer, ducking under a strike, taunting them.  “You should probably do your research next time. With his free hand, he grabs the rogues arm, his weapon forgotten, and twists it.  The man’s weapon clatters to the ground, and Ricky kicks it away quickly. He then turns, swinging the butt of his sword into the rogues face, and knocking him hard onto the ground.  With a smile, he twists to the first rogue. He’s about to win.

That’s when he hears the gunshot.  Ricky turns in an instant, just in time to see Lukas fall to the ground, grabbing his side.  The man had a fuckin gun.

Ricky isn’t thinking straight.  His friend’s blood is starting to pool on the ground.  Ricky has no idea how bad he was hit. “LUKAS!” He yells, starting to run forward.  His focus is on getting to the rogue, stopping him from shooting his friend again.

Not a smart move.  The rogue sees him coming, instantly leveling the gun at his head.  “Stop where you’re at. Make a move and get a bullet in your head.” Ricky freezes instantly.   _Shit._

A glance over to his friend.  Lukas is pushing himself up on his elbows.  His breathing heavy. One hand is pressed against his side, trying to slow the bleeding.  

“Drop your weapon.  On your knees.” The first man says, gun still pointed at his head.  Ricky casts another glance to Luke. The wound definitely isn’t fatal, that was good at least.  He narrows his eyes as he glances back over to the rogue, but drops his weapon anyway. The man steps forward, until the gun is pressed against Ricky’s forehead.

“I said,” He growls out, “On. Your. Knees.” The man cocks the gun.  Ricky glares at him, trying to figure a way out of this.

That’s when he hears the screech of tires.  A third car comes hurtling into view. The distraction is enough for Ricky to take advantage.  He slaps the gun away from his head, and grabs the rogues wrist, twisting it in the same move that he did earlier.  The gun, like the sword earlier, falls out of the rogue’s hand, but this rogue is smarter. He aims a kick at Ricky’s chest, and he stumbles backwards, trying to catch his breath.  

One of the rogues makes a desperate lunge for his gun, but at that moment, Mitch and Aiden join the fight.  Mitch leaps straight in, he has two long swords, and starts to fight. Aiden gives them a quick nod, before joining his brother.  Ricky takes a minute to catch his breath, making sure that Lukas is doing fine. His breath is a bit ragged, but the bleeding has slowed down some.  He’s satisfied that his friend is okay and jumps straight into the fight. Three on three. The rogues don’t stand a chance against them now.

It’s over in a heartbeat.  The first man to come at him doesn’t even get a hit in.  Ricky punches him the throat, knees him in the face. A hard hit to his head has him on the ground, unconscious.  Ricky runs up behind the man fighting Mitch, grabs the gun off the ground, and slams it into his head. He’s knocked out cold as well.  The two turn as one to help Aiden, but as it turns out, he doesn’t need any help. The final rogue standing is already disarmed, and is backing away from Aiden’s outstretched weapon, his hands held up in surrender.

Mitch moves forward now, pulling out some handcuffs.  “We’ll get them into custody. You just get Lukas to a hospital, got it?” Ricky nods in agreement, backing away.

He runs over to where Luke is still on the ground.

“You took your sweet time there.” Lukas growls, annoyed.  

Ricky bends down next to him, looking at the injury.  It should be fine with a few stitches. “It’s not still in, is it?” He asks.

“Went straight through.” Luke confirms.  

Lukas starts to prop himself up, and Ricky pats his shoulder.  “Just, stay still. Stubborn idiot. I’ll call Sadie to come pick us up, take you to the hospital.”

“No thanks.”

“Excuse me?”

Lukas glares at him, “I don’t want to go to a hospital. I’m fine.”

“Right.  You just got shot.”

“I don’t care.” Lukas sets his jaw stubbornly, “I don’t like hospitals.  We have suture kits. I’ll just stitch it up at the safehouse.”

Ricky doesn’t argue.  They hardly ever go to hospitals.  So he’s not surprised. “All right.  Fine. We’ll just stitch it up at home.”

Ricky pulls his jacket off, pushes it firmly against the wound.  “Sadie will be here in just a few.” Luke looks surprisingly alert, considering the blood loss. His friend nods in agreement. Sure enough, the woman shows up right on time.  She doesn't say anything, lips pursed, as she helps get Lucas into the backseat. Ricky slides into the passenger side once he's sure his friend is comfortable. 

The drive back seems to take forever.  By now, the injury was mostly done bleeding.  Lucas was still keeping pressure on it. Sadie is silent the entire drive.

“So.” Ricky finally breaks the silence, “Why didn’t they kill us?”

“What?” Lukas mutters out.

“They should have killed us.  But they didn’t.” They had lost.  They were completely at the rogues mercy.  Why were they allowed to walk away? Nothing about this case was making sense.  His friend was clearly hiding something. And it wasn’t simple, definitely not black and white like it should be.  “Why didn’t they kill us?” He repeats.


	4. Chapter 3 шпион

Nika walks into her apartment, shuffling through the mail.  It’s been three days since she saw Oscar going through her computer-- stalking her.  He had tried to apologize multiple times. Each time, she just gave him the cold shoulder.  Nika definitely did _not_ appreciate being called a “bipolar bitch”. She also didn’t forgive easily.  She’s not sure how long she’ll hold this grudge for. Maybe until he admits he was going through her stuff?

There’s a letter from Stanford Medicine.  Nika is suddenly nervous. Her top choice.  Of course her top choice is going to be the first one to send her a letter.  

She pulls a knife out of her pocket and slices the letter open. Her mouth drops open.   _Accepted._ Accepted! She was in! They only took like two percent of applicants!

“Are you for real!?” She yells excitedly.  Nika punches the air in celebration, “YES!”

Screw her grudge.  She’ll go back to holding it _after_ she’s had time to celebrate.  She starts to pace back and forth, excitedly sending out texts to her friends in pre-med, to Taylor, to a couple doctors and surgeons who she shadowed, to the ones who wrote her letters of recommendation.  After a minute, she also decides to send a text to Oscar. She can’t stop smiling.

She’s still in shock when there’s a knock on the apartment door.  Nika runs over to it, opens it up. Oscar is standing there. He’s holding his phone up, it’s open to the text from her.  “So I know we’re not talking, but holy shit! Kira! You’re in?”

Nika nods excitedly and Oscar steps in, pulls her into a hug.  He spins her around, before setting her back down and leaning in for a kiss.  She actually accepts it this time. “Stanford? You’re serious?”

Nika nods, “I can’t believe this!” She really can’t.  She had applied there as a long shot. One of her mentors had encouraged her to: since her grades were good enough, and she had the clinic, shadowing, and volunteer hours.  

“So, about this weekend’s party? Still on?” He says, raising his eyebrows.

“Most definitely.” Nika confirms, giving him a side smile.

“Am I forgiven?” He tries, stepping forward.  He puts his hands on her hips. I’ll have to send you the details.  And you better look nice.

“Hmmmm.” Nika wipes the smirk off her face, makes her expression unreadable.  She pulls away from him and jumps up on the counter. “I’ll have to think on that.  I’m definitely still mad at you.”

“I’ll dress up nice for you.”

“I expect that anyway.” Nika retorts, giving him another side glance.

Oscar laughs, shaking his head, “Are you still planning on getting completely wasted?”

Nike leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees.  “Oooooh be careful there. You’re approaching dangerous territory again.”

“You’re a giant tease, you know that right?” Oscar says, moving forward, until he’s just a foot in front of her.  

Nika lets the sly smile return to her face, “And yet for some reason, you’re still dating me.  You must like me some.”

“Kira.” Oscar grabs her hand, “I’m serious though.  I’m so proud of you. You truly deserve this. I mean it.”

Nika leans forward to give him a kiss.  Sometimes he _was_ a good boyfriend.  “Oh Oscar,” She blinks at him, “I know I deserve it.”

“Okay.  Moment ruined.”  Oscar rolls his eyes, faking annoyance.  

“Now.” Nika jumps off the counter.  “I’ll text you tonight if Taylor’s out.  Until then…” She walks over, opens up the door.  “You’re still on my bad list. Get out of here.”

Oscar knows better than to push his luck.  He starts to walk out, stopping at the door frame to steal another kiss, “So, when you say tonight?” His eyes sparkle mischievously.  

Nika gives him a push again, so he goes stumbling out the door.  “If you don’t piss me off before then.” She jokes.

Then Nika turns around, trusting Oscar to close the door behind him.  She starts to go back through the mail. Nothing else important. An acceptance letter to another school-- doesn’t matter now that she’s in at her top choice.  Then there’s one at the bottom.

She lifts it up.  Lucas Korev. _Shit._ She does not want to see this.  Nika rips it into shreds instantly, not even opening it.  No. This is a day for celebration. She is not having it ruined by stupid _Leonid_ trying to come back in to her life.  He can get help somewhere else. She refuses to get dragged into this one.  Not when her life is finally making sense.

* * *

Nika gets to the park later that afternoon, ready for a good workout.  It’s a beautiful spring day. She had called up Joel and Travis, asking if they wanted to train outside today.  They had agreed enthusiastically.

Nika arrives to the park about an hour early.  She wants to get in an easy six miles before her friend’s get there.  Nika gets her music blasting on her phone and starts her run. The park has a three mile loop, and her GPS watch gives her mile stats.  It’s an excellent workout, and nika is going much faster than normal. Must be the excitement from her acceptance. Today is going to be a good training day, she can feel it.  

There’s a man sitting on a bench watching her as she starts her workout.  Nika gives him a cold glare. He should watch where he’s looking-- or she may have to give him a warning.  When she comes out of the first loop around, the man is still sitting there. He’s reading a magazine now. There’s something off about him.  But Nika doesn’t stop her run to ask. She just picks up the pace a bit as she goes into her second loop.

When she comes out of the second loop, he’s _still_ there.  She stops her run, checks her watch.  A damn good time. She was working hard today.  Nika wipes the sweat from her brow and starts stretching.  The man keeps glancing up from his magazine, looking in her direction.  What the hell is his problem?

“Hey.” She snaps at him.  The man jumps, then starts to slowly lower his magazine, “What fuck do you think you’re doing, watching me like that?”

The man pulls out his phone, sends off a quick text.  Then smiles at her. “Sorry,” He starts, “You kind of draw attention, with that music of yours blasting.”

“What, never heard Russian rock music before?” Nika retorts coldly.  She switches legs, holding another stretch.

“Actually, no.” The man says.  “You from there?”

“Was it accent that gave it away?” Nika snaps back.

“Hey, I’m not accusing you of anything---”

“I know.” Nika snarls over him.  “I’m accusing you of watching me way too closely.  Keep your eyes on that stupid magazine, or get hell out of here.”

The man blinks at her in surprise, “Hey, I’m just here enjoying the nice weather.  Same as you. I have every right to be here.”

Nika is about to snap out another retort, but a voice behind her catches her attention.

“Hey, Kira!” It’s Travis.  Joel is right behind him. They’re walking across the field towards her.  Nika gives the man one more cold, warning, glare, before turning and greeting her friends.  

“Hey guys!”

Joel gives her a wave.  They’re both carrying small bags with them.  Nika almost forgets about the strange man watching her as she meets up with her friends.  

“So.” She beams up at them, “Got my text?”

Joel walks up and gives her a quick hug.  “Congratulations! That’s pretty damn impressive.”

Travis gives her a pat on the shoulder.  “We’re both pretty damn proud. Unless you do want to change your mind, maybe pursue a career as a SE, or possibly an ISA? You would be excellent.”

Nika gives him a quick glance, “I’m going to be excellent surgeon instead.  You know, one of those world-renowned famous ones.”

“When do you leave?” Travis asks.

“No clue.  I have to get some paperwork filled out, and all stuff together.  Find apartment. Say goodbye to everyone here. That sort of stuff.  Program starts in fall so i have couple more months before I leave, at least that’s my best guess.”

“So.”  Joel digs around in his bag, tosses her a roll of boxing tape.  “I’m guessing you want to keep training with us then?”

Nika nods and goes to work wrapping her hands up.  “I thought you guys might be interested in some hand-to-hand out here? It’s so nice today.”

Travis nods in agreement, starting to wrap his own hands.  Nika finishes up her wraps and starts to swing her arms around, getting in some dynamic stretching before they started.  The last thing she wants to do is pull a muscle before the med student party.

Travis turns back to her now that he has wraps on, “Wanna start with some speed work, and then move on to one-on-one?”

“Two-on-one if you want to stand chance.” Nika corrects him.  

Joel shrugs in agreement.  “You two first then. We’ll do five rounds.  Two minutes. Start with speed jabs?”

“Perfect.” Nika agrees.  She turns to face Travis: he’s holding up the pad.  She starts her speed work when Travis says, and is almost instantly knocking him backwards with the force of her blows.  She keeps going, focusing on good technique and moving _fast._ Her strikes are getting harder as she warms up.  When Travis calls time, she’s almost disappointed.  She was just getting warmed up.

They continue to work on the boxing moves.  They did some work with uppercuts and kicks.  Nika is completely focused on their workout. It’s not until they take five to get some water, and rest before sparring, when she notices.  That stupid man was still there on the bench. He seems to be completely absorbed in his magazine. But she’s now been at the park for two and a half hours.  He could have read the entire magazine cover to cover in that time. An apprehensive feeling starts to creep up inside her chest. What if he suspected her?

No.  She was just being paranoid.  No one had any reason to suspect her.  

“Kira? Did you hear what I just said?”  Nika slowly turns her attention back to her sparring partners.  “I was saying we can start, let me and Travis warm up before going two on one.  You good with that?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nika says, slightly distracted.  She forces herself to look away from the man, and focus on Joel.  “I’m ready. Let’s get going.”

It’s way too easy.  Joel is skilled, talented, but not even in the same league as her.  Nika blocks strikes, gets a good kick in. An uppercut has him staggering.  She steps in close, grabs his arm, twists it around. He’s pulled into a chokehold.  After a few moments, there’s a tap on his arm and nika releases him.

“How…” He’s trying to catch his breath, “Do you beat me…” Another pause.  He’s shaking his head, half annoyed, half amused, “Using a goddamn different method every time?”

“I’m that good my dear.” She smirks back at him.  “Travis, you ready?”

The other man nods, and they circle around each other.  Nika makes the first move. She darts in, ducking under a blow.  A quick jab to his chest has him wheezing. He aims a few hits at her.  Nika weaves out of the way of the first two. Blocks his hand with her own on the fourth strike.  Like normal, Travis forgot about her legs. A quick twist and she’s behind him. Her foot goes into the back of his knees and he goes down.  Nika is on top of him in an instant, pinning him down to the ground.

“Come on guys.” She jokes, pulling Travis back to his feet, “Make it challenge!”

It’s two on one this time.  She spends the first minute just ducking and dodging blows, planning a strategy in her mind.  First, she uses Joel’s strength against him. As he aims a good cross at her, she leans back, grabs his bicep, pulls him forward.  He’s thrown off balance. She turns quickly to Travis. The opposite strategy. Travis is faster. A quick defensive edge, blocking the strikes, then she gets in a good kick to his stomach.  Another good hit and the man goes down.

Movement behind her.  Joel is returning to the fight.  Nika once again uses his strength against him.  She doesn’t try to block the strikes, just moves out of the way.  He’s tiring fast. She swipes her leg around, knocks him flat on his back.  She’s about to go finish the fight with travis as well when she freezes.

 _He’s watching her again._ She shoves Travis out of the way, holds her hand up over her shoulder.  Warning the two to stop the fight.

“Excuse me.” She says harshly, “Can I help you?”

The man blinks at her in shock, like he didn’t expect to be caught staring.  Joel and Travis walk up behind her as well, noticing the man for the first time.  

“Well?”  Nika continues, her eyes narrowed in anger.  

“Sorry.” He says cooly, too calm for his own good.  He puts his magazine down, leans back on the bench, props his ankle up on his other leg. “I couldn’t help but notice how talented you are.  Have you ever considered joining law enforcement?”

Something was definitely up.  Nika’s skin is crawling as she looks at the man.  He was suspicious. “Nyet.” She snaps out, crossing her arms. “Now why don’t you leave us to train and stop staring at me like deer in headlights, sound good?”

The man finally stands up, starts to gather his stuff.  Nika continues to stare over at him. She’s aware that Joel and Travis have come up behind her.  Probably to back her up. She’s grateful for the support.

“Sorry,” He starts, “I didn’t mean to-”

“Didn’t mean to what? Spy on me?” Nika snaps out in fury.  “You’ve been keeping your eyes on me this entire time I’ve been here.  So why don’t you get hell away from here before I call cops about this person stalking me.”

The man looks taken aback by that, “Hey, sweetie-”

“Don’t you dare fuckin call me that.” Nika interrupts, a dangerous tone creeping into her voice.

“Listen, I’m not stalking you, I’m just-”

Nika interrupts him again.  She doesn’t want to hear it.  She’s already fricken terrified that he’s on to her secret.  “Get. Out. Of. Here.”

Joel steps up to stand at her shoulder.  He looks furious, his eyes flashing in anger. “Are you seriously stalking her?”

The man just rolls his eyes, rudely turning his back to them.  He starts to walk away, way too confident for his own good.

Travis yells after his retreating back, “Stay the hell away from her, stalker freak!”   

As soon as he’s out of sight, Joel turns back to her.  “Want to keep going, or?”

“Keep going.” Nika snaps.  “Except no more sparring. I don’t want to accidentally injure one of you because I’m so pissed.  Let’s go back to speed and skill work.”

“Good plan.” Travis agrees, “I don’t want my neck snapped today, thank you very much.”

A ghost of a smile flickers over Nika’s face at that, “All right.  Let’s hop right back in.”

* * *

Nika grabs Oscar in close, that little smile playing on her lips.  She still wants to know what the hell he was doing the other day, going through her computer, but right now...

  
“I think.” She says playfully into his ear, “That you owe me apology.”  
  
“And what is that for again?” He says, playing dumb.  
  
Nika tilts her head at him as he leans in for a kiss.  She holds one hand up before he can reach her lips, “I believe word you used was bitch.”  
  
“But you are a bitch.” Oscar jokes back.  
  
“Careful now.” Nika warns, raising her eyebrows. “I’ll kick you out again.”  
  
Oscar grabs her hand, intertwining his fingers with her own. “I’m very, very sorry.” He says softly, kissing her hand, “Please, will you ever forgive me?”  
  
“Nyet.” Nika says curtly, “Maybe in future. If you don’t anger me again.”  
  
She steps close for another kiss, “But for now. You’re,” She pauses, “Temporarily forgiven.”  
  
Nika turns and walks back over to her drink. She’s sits down on the couch and Oscar follows her. “What time are you leaving for the party tomorrow?”  
  
“Ten.” Nika leans back on the couch, looking up at him. He sits down next to her.  
  
“And when does Taylor get home tonight?”  
  
“Gone all night.” Nika says casually. She takes a long sip from her drink.  
  
“Wanna move to the bedroom?” He dares to ask.  
  
Nika smirks over at him. “I thought you would never ask.”

* * *

  
Nika yawns, stretches out on the bed. Oscar is out cold next to her. Moving carefully, Nika slips out from under the covers. She heads to the bathroom, gets changed, and goes back to the living room. She wasn’t one for cuddling. Usually she would kick Oscar out to the couch, but she’s not in the mood to wake him up. Hell, she didn't need the sleep really.  Two hours was plenty for her.  But it would be good to get some rest in after a hard day fo training.  She had been at the park for almost four hours total before she was feeling okay enough to come home.  

  
Nika snatches a blanket from the ground, flops onto the couch. Nika watches some TV for an hour, then the clock catches her attention.  It's almost 5 am.  She should probably try to get some rest.  Nika lays back on the couch, tosses around a bit before getting comfortable. She’s just starting to drift off the sleep, when she hears the noises coming from her room. _What the hell_?  
  
With an annoyed sigh, she stands back up, rubbing her eyes. She’s about to go to the room, when she remembers her camera. A small security camera she set up when she moved in. She never had it on when she’s home— not quite that neurotic. But now, it could come in handy.  
  
She opens her computer. Enters the code and the camera is on.  
  
She’s shocked at what she’s seeing. Oscar is looking over her dresser, before moving around the room. He’s pulling things off shelves, searching for who-knows-what. He’s being extra careful to put everything back exactly where he found it.  
  
He starts to go through her pile of workout equipment in the corner. Nika can feel the rage creeping up inside of her. That fucker was stalking her!  
  
Oscar notices her chest in the corner. The wooden chest that she always told him to leave alone. He pulls out a paperclip from his pocket and unlocks the chest, opening it. He seems confused to find a variety of knives and a couple short swords in there. But he just closes it, moving on. What was he looking for? Did he suspect her?  
  
Oscar goes to her closet next. He’s going through her clothes, her shoes. Then he pulls out a small cardboard box.  
  
Nika is furious.  Absolutely livid. What was she? Just a fuckin tool for him? Does he think he can just come in here, sleep with her, and be entitled to go through all of her stuff?  The idiot probably thinks that she is still asleep.  
  
She watches as he sits on her bed, starts to shuffle through old photos and letters. That was it. He's dead.  
  
Nika slams the computer shut and walks quietly over to the room. She enters the doorway. Oscar doesn’t even notice her. He seems too invested in the letter that he’s holding.  
  
“Damn it Kira.” He mutters, “I don’t speak Russian.”  
  
He pulls a second letter out, rolling his eyes. Nika crosses her arms, giving him with an icy look. He’ll notice her eventually.  
  
He pulls out his phone to take a picture, and then suddenly freezes as he senses her presence. He looks up slowly to meet Nika’s eyes. She gives him a stony glare, allowing a dangerous gleam to enter her eyes. Oscar is frozen, caught in the act.  
  
Nika’s voice is cold, “Were you really stupid enough to think I wouldn’t find out?”  
  
Oscar steps away from the box, letter still in hand. He swallows hard, nervous. Looking like a deer in headlights. Nika hasn’t moved yet.  But her body posture is sending an unspoken warning. She knows that the look on her face is downright murderous. She holds that steely look for another minute, making sure she’s under control, before speaking again.  
  
“What hell do you think you’re doing, spying on me?” Her voice has a creepy calmness to it. Deathly calm. Like a predator prior to attacking. “Well?” She presses, still not moving.  
  
Oscar is still staring at her. He sets the letter down on her bed, opening and closing his mouth. Like he can’t decide what to say.  
  
Nika holds her glare. He finally tries to say something, “Well, I, um, I...” he breaks off.  
  
“Spit it out.” Nika snarls.  
  
“I didn’t, I was just, I-“  
  
Nika storms past him as he continues to stutter. She snatches the box and the letters off the bed. She strides over to the closet, returns the box. Then she turns back to Oscar.  
  
“Get out.” Her tone is daring him to argue back.  
  
“Wait, no, Kira. Just listen.”  
  
“Listen to what? Some lame ass excuse to explain why you were going through my private stuff?” Nika is absolutely furious. She should just dump his ass right now. A small part of her wants to kill him for this bullshit. But she’s been doing so well keeping her murder problem under control.  
  
“It’s not an excuse. I have a reason.”  
  
Oh, so he’s going to argue back now? Nika clenches her fist. Making sure she’s under control before saying anything. “Oh really?” She says sarcastically, “Fine. I’ll bite. What’s your reasoning?”  
  
Oscar shuffles his feet, “I thought you might be cheating on me.”  
  
Nika almost laughs at that. “So we’re lying now.”  
  
Oscar rushes to get the words out. “No seriously. That’s it. End of story. I just thought maybe with how much you talked about Travis and Joel that maybe....”  
  
The anger is back in a heartbeat. That. Fuckin. Jackass. Her accent is getting stronger now that she’s so upset and pissed off. It’s a struggle to keep speaking in English. “They’re in their 40’s you piece of shit. And you know that. Real reason, what is it?”  
  
“That’s it. I swear. It was just stupid boyfriend jealousy.” Oscar is starting to back away from her. Picking up on her rage. Her hate.  
  
“Funny. I don’t believe you.” It’s snarled out.  
  
Oscar tries pleading with her one more time. As if that would do anything. “That’s all it was. Please Kira can we just talk about this?”  
  
Nika repeats her words from earlier. Her tone is venomous. “Get out.”  
  
Oscar starts to walk over to her, but she turns and gives him an icy glare. He freezes in his tracks. A smart move. If she had a knife on her, he would be in real trouble.  
  
Oscar stammers out an apology. To his credit, he actually does look upset. Sorry for his actions. “Kira, I’m so sorry. I swear I’m not trying to hurt you. I should have just talked to you and been open with you and-“  
  
Nika doesn’t want to hear it. “I said. Get. Out.” She growls those last two words out.  
  
He’s still trying to reason with her. “I.....”  
  
“NOW.” Nika yells over him.  
  
He starts to back up to the door almost instantly, keeping his eyes on her. Nika storms up to him, cussing him out in Russian “Trakhat' tebya. Derzhat'sya podal'she ot menya. Kusok der’ma. my zakonchili. Idi k chertu, Mudak.”

  
She spits those last words out, slamming the door behind her. Nika can hear the apartment door open and close as Oscar hurriedly leaves. Good. She doesn’t want to see his stupid face ever again.  
  
With a heavy sigh, Nika goes back over to the closet. She grabs one of the letters back out and looks at it for a long time. “Chto on do? ” She mutters.  
  
The door opens again and a few moments later, someone is knocking on her door.  
  
“Oskar, klyanus'-“  
  
“Kira, it’s Taylor.”  
  
“Oy.” Nika quickly puts the letter away, closes her closet back up. “You can come in.”  
  
Taylor opens the door cautiously, giving her a concerned look. “Kira, you okay? Oscar just came Running past me, he looked pretty upset. What happened?”  
  
“We’re through.” She mutters. “Listen, Taylor, I would love to tell you more. But I didn’t get much sleep. So I’ll fill you in before party tonight.”  
  
“That bad?” Taylor looks at her for a long moment, but doesn’t press the issue. “Okay. We’ll talk tonight then. You sure you’re fine.”  
  
“Da.” Nika nods to her, “Now please. Let me rest.”  
  
Taylor doesn’t press the issue. Nika is thankful for that. Her roommate leaves, closing the door behind her. So her boyfriend— check that— her ex was practically spying on her. Some random guy at the park was _also_ stalking her. Something is seriously wrong. 

 


	5. Chapter 4: Personal

Lukas follows Sadie into the locked room.  He’s none-to-happy about this plan. Ricky was waiting outside, watching through the glass. He was waiting with Sadie’s younger brother, Max, who had also come to watch the interrogation. It was Sadie’s idea.  She wanted to talk to them alone. But Lukas had refused. He will not let the President’s fricken daughter in the room alone with the two psychopaths. He had promised Sadie that he would just sit there, not say a word, and let the woman lead the conversation.

The guards lead Chang in first.  It seems like prison has affected the man.  He looks to be nearing his 40’s, even though he’s only in his early 30’s.  He has a thin face, narrow eyes. Short black hair. Tattoos running up and down his arms.  Lukas goes to stand in the corner of the room, carefully watching. Sadie looks looks completely composed, not worried at all about being in the room with him.

“Chang Xeiu.  My name is Sadie Hart.  I was hoping we could have a little chat.” She starts.

The man just looks around the room.  His gaze rests on Lukas for a moment.  He turns his head slightly the side, as if he recognized the agent.  Lukas keeps his face blank and unreadable. Sadie sighs heavily.

“This isn't an interrogation.  I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.” She tries again.

Chang tears his gaze away from Lucas, returning his attention to Sadie.  He blinks at her a couple times, but still doesn’t say a word. Sadie rolls her eyes over to Lukas-- Lukas can feel her frustration from where he stands.  

Sadie doesn’t give up. “Listen.  I don’t want to spend all day trying to get you to talk.  It’s a waste of my time. I have other things to do. I’m just trying to get to know you better.  Understand you. Why did it take eleven years for someone to try breaking you out of prison?”

Chang is still looking at the woman.  Deathly silent. Not responding. Lukas raises his eyebrows at Sadie, silently encouraging her to keep trying.   

“How did you initially end up in jail?” She changes the subject.

 _Now_ Chang responds, almost instantly.  “That’s not for you to know.”

Sadie’s voice is still cool and collected as she tries to keep the conversation going. “So you can talk.  You see, I heard that you were both found unconscious. Some good citizen managed to knock you out and call the Superior enforcement to come and arrest you.  Must be embarrassing to talk about.”

Chang glares at her.  He’s definitely angered now.  Good. When people get mad, they tend to be less careful about their words.  They may just get some information out of him now. Lukas shifts his weight, still watching the scene in front of him intensely.  He’s trying to learn as much as he can about the man through observation.

“I know you and Carla are nex-gens.  That’s why you wear those bracelets constantly.” Sadie has moved to thinly veiled taunts now.  A fair strategy.

Chang instinctively goes to rub his wrist.  The metal cuff is harnessing whatever powers he has.  Sadie decides to just keep talking, continue pressing him.  She’s not doing too bad honestly. Lukas is slightly impressed with her strategy, and her cool and collected attitude.   

“The rumor is that you inherited your parents powers.” Another slight shift in the conversation.   “The psychic powers.”

There is still no response.  Chang is proving to be very useless.

Sadie decides to just go for it now.  Ask the big question. The important one. “The other rumor is that you and Carla were plotting to overthrow the President, kill him, and take over.  Is that true?”

Silence.  Lukas nods at Sadie, encouraging her to take one more push.

“Is that true?” She tries, one final time.

Chang goes to staring off into space.  He yawns, like he’s bored of the conversation.  Sadie fixes him with a stern glare, hoping to get his attention back on her.

“Why do you want to kill the president?” She asks.  

Sadie waits for a few minutes.  Then she finally nods at Lukas. “Just get the guards to take him back.  He won’t be any help.”

Lukas nods, acknowledging her command.  The guards come in a moment later, un-cuff Chang from the chair, and lead him out of the room.  Sadie and Lukas both follow the guards out. Sadie looks annoyed.

“Well, that was uneventful.” Max mutters.

“No shit.” Sadie agrees.

“I didn’t know he was going to be so quiet. He said like two words the whole time.” Max continues.  Ricky looks over to Lukas, rolling his eyes. Ricky was no fan of Sadie’s obnoxious brother.

“I know Max.  I was in there.”

“Maybe we should just leave? Is it even worth it, talking to Carla?” Max asks.  

“Yes.” Ricky jumps in.  “Carla is clearly the leader of the two.  If we want any answers, we’ll get them from her.”

Max looks like he is about to argue back.  Lukas instantly steps between the two of them, not wanting to break up a fight.  “Ricky, you might want to go in there on guard duty this time. I’ll stay and watch from out here.”

Ricky nods, not questioning it.  

“Better get back in there.” Max says calmly when he hears the footsteps coming down the hall.  “They’re on their way.”

Lukas leans forward, watching through the mirror as Sadie goes back to her seat in the room.  Ricky follows her in, standing in the corner the exact same way. Lukas hides in the shadows as the woman is brought forward, into the room.  She looks confident, radiating power. Lucas knows how manipulative she is. How dark her reputation is. She’s beautiful, honestly. Light brown skin, brown hair.  Round eyes, expressive. It’s hard to imagine her as such an evil individual. But she has a way of twisting others to follow her.

Carla is restrained much tighter than Chang was.  Hands and ankles tied to the chair. The chair is bolted to the ground.  She’s very healthy for someone who has been in prison for over a decade. Carla looks relaxed and composed, mirroring Sadie.  There’s a trace of a smile playing on her face.

“Carla Satoni.” Sadie says calmly.

Carla doesn’t move her head, but her eyes shift over to Sadie, her expression never changing.

Sadie keeps her composure. “Your partner didn’t help me much. I was wondering if you would talk more openly.”

Now Carla turns her head to face Sadie. She has a curious look on her face. Like she’s already trying to figure out how to manipulate sadie into doing what she wants.  Sadie shifts in her chair, looking uncomfortable. Then a bright smile breaks out on Carla’s face.

“Little princess. How do you enjoy your palace life?” She says softly.  There’s the faintest hint of a taunt in there.

Lukas can tell from here that Sadie is struggling to keep her composure.  Carla had an unsettling presence. Sadie was feeling it. “What’s the plan Carla?”

“You’ve never done this before have you?” It’s asked with curiosity.  She’s trying to break apart, figure out her opponent. It’s the same strategy that Lukas would typically use. She’s smart.

“I’m not trying to interrogate you, this is more of a friendly chat.” Sadie says curtly.

Carla fakes surprise at that.  “Oh is it? And I’m supposed to ignore everyone on the other side of that mirror listening in?”

“It’s a friendly chat, with backup.”

Carla smiles again, shaking her head slightly.  “You couldn’t possibly understand the plans that I have.”

Sadie seems taken aback by that.  Ricky gets a confused look as well from where he’s at in the corner of the room. “Plans?”

“You really think it stops with us getting free?” She sounds almost surprised at her naivety. “There’s so much more.”  

“Okay. So plans. Plural. Why eleven years? Why now?” _Crap_.  Sadie is starting to slip: he can tell by the slight change in her tone.  Asking too many questions at once. She’s nervous.

Carla is picking up on it too.  “Once again, you couldn’t possibly understand.”

“You underestimate me.” Sadie’s voice is tighter now.   _Damn it._  They may as well stop now.

And then Carla goes straight for Sadie’s insecurity.  The woman somehow knows how to pinpoint it, drag it out.  “You overestimate yourself. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be. Those two heroes always running off, saving the day, and the little nerd has to stay behind. She can’t join the danger. Daddy would never allow it.”

Sadie doesn’t respond for a long time.  She takes a few deep breaths, flashes a glance to Ricky in the corner.  He gives a tiny shake of his head-- Ricky is smart enough to not say anything.  He’s trying to keep Carla from twisting into his mind now, feeding on his self-doubts.  

“You only know half the story.” Carla continues. “Maybe I’m not as bad as I seem.”

Sadie holds her gaze.  “You could be worse.”

Carla laughs at that.  Actually _laughs._ “Now you’re getting it. This isn’t about you. Or those two handsome men that run around with you.” A cold smirk flashed over to Ricky in the corner. “It’s so much bigger than that.”

“Help me see your side then. Help me understand what made you this way.” Another last ditch effort for Sadie to try and figure out their plans.

Carla has an almost-innocent expression on her face when she responds. “You really believe I could have some light inside of me?”

Lukas almost scoffs at Sadie’s next words.  “I believe that everyone has some good in them.” She says.  

Carla laughs softly again. “You are such a naive little girl.” It’s _creepy_ . Lucas is _agreeing_ with a psychopath.  Sadie was being naive about this. Carla had no good in her.  He knows this. It’s a fact. Carla was a psychopath with a cruel streak.  A psychopath with unbelievable powers.

“I don’t want to spend all day here.  If you’re just going to keep dancing around my questions, I may as well leave.” It’s said calmly, but Lukas can tell she’s just trying to get rid of Carla.  The woman is starting to rattle her too much. Sadie doesn’t want her mind messed with any longer.

“What a shame that would be.” Carla remarks sarcastically. “You don’t deserve a hint, girl. This is personal. And you have no part in it: No right to interfere.”

Lukas swallows hard at that.   _Personal._

Sadie picks up on that tiny clue too.  Maybe she’s not as bad at this as he thought. “You say it’s personal. Who are you talking about?”

The sly smile disappears from Carla’s face. She leans forward in her chair, to the limit of the handcuffs. Sadie seems to brace herself, trying not to pull away.  Lukas can feel how the tension grows in the room. Ricky’s hand creeps to his sword from where he stands in the corner.

“Tread carefully Sadie Hart. You get in my way, and there will be severe consequences.” She says softly.

The two glare at each other for a long moment.  Lucas can tell that it’s taking all of Sadie’s willpower not to look away.  But she is the first one to back down. Sadie finally shoves her chair back, gets quickly to her feet.  Carla leans back in her chair, a haughty expression on her face. She just won, a small victory, but it was definitely a win.  Sadie should not have been the first to break the standoff.

Sadie walks quickly to the door, opens it up. “You can take her away now.” She says to the guards.  Lucas once again retreats to the shadows as Carla is led past them, back down to her cell. Right before Cara disappears down the hall, she turns and gives Sadie one last smile.  It’s almost friendly, but there’s malice behind it.

As soon as Carla is gone, Sadie lets out the breath she was holding.  “All right. Ummm.”

“That was useless.” Lukas adds.

Ricky comes out of the room, gives Lukas a concerned look. “I don’t know what I expected.  I don’t think anyone has ever given off a vibe like that. Why do I feel like she holds all the cards, even though she’s the one locked up?”

“We’re playing her game it seems like.” Sadie agrees with Ricky for once. “I feel like we’re doing exactly what she wants.

They’re both looking at him for answers. “Let’s go back to the safehouse.” Lukas gets out, looking back and forth between his two friends. No need to start freaking out just yet. “We can figure things out from there.”

* * *

“We still have nothing.” Sadie mutters as they make their way along the street.  

Lukas wants to reassure her, but she’s right.  They got _nothing_ from the interrogations a couple days ago.  Except that Carla had more than one plan, and that there was something personal.  Lukas has an idea what she means by that. But he’s not going to tell a soul, not even Ricky, until he’s certain of it.  Things were starting to get dangerous. Carla is the last person on the planet that they should mess with.

“Lukas.” Ricky’s voice interrupts his thoughts. It’s tense.

“What?” Lukas says, slightly irritated.  

Ricky is looking down the sidewalk.  Lukas follows his gaze. He doesn’t see anything.

“What are you looking at?”

Ricky doesn’t respond. He just narrows his eyes, hand creeping towards his sword.  And that’s when the man pulls out a knife and takes aim at Sadie.

“Shit, Sadie, GET DOWN!” Lukas yells.  He puts on a burst of speed, slamming into Sadie and shoving her out of the way.  At the same time, Ricky charges straight at the man, tackling him, right before he can throw the knife.  

Lukas instantly pulls Sadie to her feet, rushing her away from the scene.  He can see Ricky and the man rolling on the ground together. The man is stabbing away with his knife.  He shoves Sadie behind the car, ready to run out a help his friend.

Ricky is still on the ground.  His friend gets the upper hand for a moment, holding one of the man’s wrists with his hand, and landing a few good punches on the man’s face.  The attacker finds the opportunity to throw a punch, hitting Ricky square in the face. _Damn it._ Lukas tries to get to his friend faster, as another punch hits Ricky in the forehead.  His friend’s nose is starting to bleed heavily. The man kicks him in the stomach, flipping back over on top of him.  He stabs down with his knife, but this time Ricky is ready. Lukas is almost to them as Ricky grabs the man’s wrist with both hands, twisting it.  There’s a loud crack and the man grunts in pain, dropping the knife. He glances up, notices Lukas almost on top of him, and he aims a kick at Ricky.  Before Lukas can jump into the fight, before his friend can recover, the attacker has taken off running down the street.

Lukas bends down, letting the man go.  He offers a hand and pulls Ricky to his feet.  He’s breathing hard from the adrenaline of the fight.  Ricky reaches up to wipe the blood away from his nose.

For a moment, they’re silent.  Sadie stands up from behind the car.  She’s clearly shaken. The woman makes her way over to them.  “What the hell was that?”

Lukas exchanges a look with Ricky.  They both know exactly what just happened.  Lukas takes a deep breath, not quite sure how to explain it.  “Well.” He pauses, “I think you might be their target now.”

 

* * *

Lukas has never met someone more dramatic than Ricky.  Right now, his friend is sitting at the table, holding a towel up to his nose.  He looks disgruntled. Annoyed at himself for getting injured. Lucas walks over, handing his friend an ice pack.  Ricky takes it with a grunt of thanks.

“Is it still bleeding?” Lukas asks.

“He broke the fuckin thing.  Of course it’s still bleeding.” Ricky grumbles.

“Well, you know.” Lukas jokes, “You shouldn’t have let him get a punch in on you.   _And_ he kicked you.  Losing a step brother.”

“Oh shut up.” Ricky growls back.  

“Hey, could have been worse.  You could have been shot. That’s always a good time.” Lukas rubs his side where he was shot a week ago.  It was healing quickly. Still sore though. Definitely still sore. “Did he get any other bad hits in?”

“I’m fine outside of the stupid nose.  I swear if it’s crooked after this…” Ricky breaks off, shaking his head.

Lukas jumps at the opportunity to make fun of his friend.  Such was their relationship. “Awwwww you don’t want a slightly less-than-perfect face? Poor baby.” He teases.

Ricky gives him a glare, and then tosses the towel over to him.  Lukas jumps out of the way. “Gross.”

Ricky leans back in the chair, putting the ice pack on his nose and closing his eyes.  “Anyway, how’s Sadie?”

Lukas shrugs, “I thinks she’s fine, outside of being a little shaken up.”

“Good.” Ricky sets the ice pack down on the counter  His friend’s nose is red and swollen, but the bleeding has finally stopped.  “Anyway, I’m gonna go take a nap. I’m exhausted.”

* * *

It’s the following day when Ricky comes up with a stupid, very Ricky-like idea.  And naturally Sadie agrees with it. The agent walks out the door with the woman, and they head downtown.

The two of them stroll around downtown for almost an hour. He was sure that the rogues would show up. If they were targeting Sadie now, then they would definitely come at her if she was out in broad daylight.  Of course, having an agent with his reputation may be discouraging them from going on the attack. Ricky hated that they had no clue what was going on. First, the rogues tried to break out Carla and Chang from prison.  Then they said that they were on a mission and it was personal. And now they were going straight after Sadie to take her out. It’s like they’re jumping back and forth between plans and it’s giving Ricky a headache. Just make a damn plan and stick to it.  

“We’ve been wandering downtown for like an hour.  Maybe they haven’t noticed us yet.” Sadie mutters.

Ricky smiles over at her.  He’s slightly annoyed that she’s a little taller than him.  “They will notice us soon. Especially if I start doing this.”  The agent doesn’t hesitate to pull his sword out. He starts to wave it around.  Sadie rolls her eyes at him.

“I don’t understand how you can be so talented and intelligent at times, and also be the world’s biggest idiot.”

“Hey now.” Ricky gives her a hurt look.  “I think it actually worked. See those two guys over there?”

Sadie glances over, gives a terse nod.  “From the attack last week, when they surrounded you and Lucas.”

“Hey fellas!” Ricky calls across the sidewalk.  Sadie gives him a quick glare, clearly frustrated with his boldness.  Ricky ignores her and starts to approach the men. Sadie reluctantly follows him.  “Listen, we don’t want to fight. We just want to talk.”

Sadie gives him a look, nervous.  Ricky has to agree. The rogues are still walking towards them.  They show no signs that they care to listen and talk things through.  Quite the opposite in fact. In an attempt to keep the peace, Ricky puts his sword away.  He holds his hands up in a peaceful gesture. Sadie does the same thing.

“We’re not looking to fight.” She tries.  Her voice is calm and even, almost sweet. “We just were hoping to have a quick chat.”

Naturally, both of the rogues just pull their swords out.  “So much for a friendly chat.” He mutters under his breath.  Sadie nods in agreement. She takes a nervous step back. Ricky steps up to be in front of her.  “On my signal, run.” He watches them approach. Another step. Another, “Go. Now. Run.” Ricky says under his breath.  

They both turn as one and take off down the street.  Unfortunately they don’t get more than a few steps. Heading towards them from the other direction is one of the more recognizable rogues.  Sadie had looked him up. He seemed to be their leader. Braxton-- something. Ricky didn’t bother with last names if they didn’t matter.

Ricky pushes Sadie back behind him, eyes darting back and forth as the three rogues convene on them.  As soon as the two reach him, he goes on the attack. He’s holding his own fairly well, but these two both have a lot of stamina.  Ricky is out of breath quickly. The fight takes a turn for the worse when one rogue manages to get a good hit in on his leg, and slams him in the stomach with the butt of his blade.  The agent doubles over and backs up. The rogues take advantage of his weakness, and move in for the kill.

But Ricky isn’t out of tricks, not yet.  As they approach, he suddenly swings his sword low, knocking both of the rogues off of their feet.

There’s a loud cry from behind him. “RICKY, LOOK OUT!”

Ricky turns around just in time, and ducks down as Braxton swings towards his head.   _Damn it._ He would join the fight at the most inconvenient of times.  The agent grabs his sword arm, trying to shove the man back, but Braxton punches him the face, right on his already broken nose. Before Ricky is able to recover, the rogue grabs his sword arm and pulls him forward, throwing him on to the ground.  He rolls a few times, before he is able to get to his feet. He is favoring one of his legs. Ricky can’t seem to catch his breath.

The three rogues start to converge on him again. Ricky swallows hard, stumbling backwards.   _Shit._ He’s out of options.  Braxton approaches him, ready for the kill.  Suddenly there’s a loud smack, a grunt of pain, and a rogue is on the ground.  He’s out cold. Ricky tears his attention away from Braxton, to see Sadie standing there.  She has a long metal pole in her hand. Before anyone can comment or react, she swings the pole again.  This time, the second unnamed rogue is knocked out to the ground. She’s caught Braxton’s attention as well.  Ricky takes advantage of his enemies distraction. A quick hit to the back of the man’s knees, and he is on the ground.  

Sadie runs over to Ricky, dropping her weapon on the ground.  She reaches forward like she’s trying to help, but he just shakes his head.  He doesn’t _need_ any help.  They look at each other for a moment, come to an unspoken agreement, and go sprinting towards the car.  As soon as they get there, Ricky jumps in the passenger seat, and Sadie goes peeling away.

* * *

 Lukas can hear the car pulling down the driveway.  He jumps up instantly and goes to greet them at the door.  Ricky walks in, looking exhausted. He’s holding a towel up to his nose again.  Sadie follows him in. She looks a little shook up, but not too bad.

“I’m guessing you guys had a good talk with the rogues?” Lukas says curtly, sarcastic.

Ricky ignores him.  He heads to the living room and lays down on the floor dramatically.  “Take a guess.” He sounds stuffed up, like he has a head cold.

Lukas turns his attention to Sadie.  She’s in the kitchen, grabbing out an ice pack for his friend.  “They definitely had no interest in talking.” She confirms.

He raises his eyebrows, asking for more information.

“They just came straight at us.  Three of them.”

“Should have seen her Luke.” Ricky mumbles from the living room.  “She knocked two of them out cold.”

Lukas looks at Sadie as she walks over to them.  He’s actually impressed. He didn’t really expect for her to be _useful._ “Thanks.”

Ricky starts to get up from where he is on the ground.  Super dramatic of course. Lukas always thought Ricky would do well as a theatre kid.  His friend walks slowly over to the door. “We should probably lock this.”

A shiver runs up Lukas’ spine for no reason.  Something is wrong. Something is definitely wrong.  “Hey, wait.”

The words have barely left his mouth when the door suddenly bursts open.  Lukas quickly shoves Sadie behind him as a man comes charging into the room.  Ricky barely manages to scramble out of the way as a sword is swung straight at his chest.  Lucas can tell from here that his friend is definitely weak. Not in fighting shape. The back-to-back attacks from earlier have weakened him.  Lukas tries to run to help, but there are four rogues. They surround his friend. He can’t even see what’s happening. His heart is racing. There’s a thud as Ricky hits the ground.  His sword is kicked out of the way.

Lukas tries to jump in to the fight, but the flat part of a sword hits him in the chest.  He barely manages to stay on his feet. The wind is knocked out of him. He doubles over, trying to catch his breath.  Out of the corner of his eye, he can see one of the men grab Ricky, shoving his arms behind him, yanking him to his feet. Lukas freezes when a rogue shoves a knife against his best friend’s throat.

A brief moment of indecision.  Lukas is terrified. But he can’t do _anything_.  They’re outnumbered.  Outmatched. About to kill his friend…. He makes up his mind.  A few steps back, to stand in front of Sadie. At least he can protect her now.  The tension builds in the room as the standoff continues.

Finally one of the rogues who isn’t holding Ricky steps forward.  “All right Lukas. I’m going to make this very simple for you. Give up Sadie Hart, or Ricky dies.”

 _Sadie? What the?_ It doesn’t make sense.  Why did they want Sadie dead so bad?  And Lukas wants nothing more than to step out of the way.  Let them take her out. Ricky is more important. The woman really doesn’t mean anything to him. But no. _No._ He doesn’t trade lives.  Besides, they may just kill Sadie and instantly turn on him and Ricky. Lukas clenches his fists as the knife is dug a little deeper into his friend’s throat. There’s a small drop of blood that appears.

“Don’t.” He gets out.

The rogue rolls his eyes. “I’m not going to ask again.  Ten seconds until your friend is choking on his own blood.”

Lukas is horrified. He’s going to cave. He knows it, even as Ricky gives the slightest shake of his head.

“Ten. Nine. Eight.”

“Please don’t.” It’s quiet, desperate, as the man continues to count.

“Five. Four.”

“Wait.” Sadie’s voice this time, “Don’t. Please.”

“Two.”

But he never gets to one.  Because Ricky’s knees buckle and he collapses heavily to the ground.  The rogues are taken by surprise at his new tactic. It gives Lukas just enough time to take advantage, dart towards the fight.  He swings at one of them, and notices Ricky making a desperate lunge for his own sword….

The nearest rogue turns and stabs him, straight in the stomach, with a small knife.  Lukas yells in rage as his friend goes down. He attacks them all at once. Ducking and dodging.  He’s not getting a lot of hits in, but he is doing well enough to not get hit himself. And then Ricky is there.  He doesn’t know how the man is managing to fight, with such a large wound, but he is. Together, they’re starting to beat them back.  

Sadie joins the fight as well.  She has a metal bat in her hands-- Lukas doesn’t ask where she got it from-- And she swings it hard at one of the rogues.  He goes down. Another swing, dodged this time. A slash with his sword, and Sadie cries out in pain. She’s clutching her arm.  

Lukas is furious. He once again pulls Sadie out of the way.  Then he turns in a rage, cracking his sword against one of their heads.  He has the advantage now and the remaining two know it. They turn as one and run out the door.  He doesn’t follow. Ricky tries though. His friend takes two steps after them, before his knees buckle and he goes down on the ground once more.  Still clutching his stomach where he was stabbed.

Lucas glares at the door, hearing the car screech away.  “You okay Sadie?” He says tensely. His focus on Ricky.

Sadie nods, pushing him away.  “I’m fine, go make sure he’s okay.”

Lukas nods, sprinting instantly to his friend’s side.  He bends down next to Ricky. The man is clutching at his stomach, pale, labored breathing.  

“Ricky, hey man, hey, look at me.” He’s trying to stay calm.  Ricky hardly ever got injured like this. Usually Lucas was the one bleeding all over the place.

“Is he okay?” Sadie asks from behind him.  She’s clutching at her arm. It’s a bad cut, definitely needs stitches.  Great. Lucas hates going to the hospital. But it looks like they have no choice at this point.

Ricky looks up at him, trying to catch his breath.  He slowly starts to sit up. Lucas instantly puts his hand on his friend’s shoulder, shoving him back to the ground.  “Don’t move yet.”

“I’m fine.” Ricky says stubbornly, giving him a furious glance. “Of course I’m fine. I could keep fighting.” At those words, his eyes roll back a little bit and he stops trying to sit up.  Ricky falls back down onto the ground, barely conscious, his breath ragged.

“Idiot.” Lukas mutters.  He presses his jacket against his friend’s wound.  His attention turning back to Sadie, “Can you walk?”

She is a bit pale and shaky from the blood loss, but she nods and bends down to help Ricky to his feet.  “I’ll call Max to bring these two in.” She mutters, nodding at the unconscious rogues by the door.

“Sounds good.” He lets Ricky lean heavily on his shoulder,  “Let’s get to a hospital.”

  
  
  



	6. Chapter 5 буря

Nika sits down on the bathroom sink as Taylor starts to do her makeup.  Filling her in on what happened. She’s already dressed and ready for the party.  It didn’t take much effort. Black leggings. A black tank top. One of her favorite baseball caps tucked on her head. Her long brown hair is braided down her back like normal.  

Taylor is still getting ready.  She likes to dress up a lot more.  Her hair is down and curly. She’s wearing a skirt, and a fancy top.  “So wait,” She pauses as she starts on her eyeshadow, “He was going through your stuff?”

“My private stuff, da.”

“Dangerous game.”

“Right?” Nika agrees.  “Anyway, I moved to couch because I wanted to watch some TV-- wasn’t tired-- And I heard movement.  Went to see what he was doing and he was going through literally everything. Looking on my shelves, dresser, in closet.”

“What the hell?” Taylor looks closely at the mirror, making sure she’s satisfied with her appearance.  “Who does that?”

“Apparently my jackass ex.  I would bet he was one who hacked into my email too.  Remember that from other week?” Nika responds.

“So.” Taylor steps back from the mirror, satisfied with her appearance.  “Did he say why or anything?”

Nika rolls her eyes, “Some bullshit excuse. Like ‘Oh I thought you might be cheating on me.’ Please.” She scoffs. “I’ve been dating guy for two years.  He does not suffer from self esteem issues.”

“I don’t understand why the hell he would do something like that.  He always seemed so nice.” Taylor sounds confused. That makes two of them. “Well, maybe it was all just a misunderstanding?”

“I doubt it.” Nika growls, hopping off the sink. “He clearly doesn’t trust me.  So why should I even think about trusting him?”

“I’m just saying.” Taylor turns and gives her a look.  She’s approaching mom-friend mode. “You should talk things out with him.  He was flustered. You were mad, we all know you’re quite terrifying when you’re mad.  And when emotions run high like that, you can’t properly resolve things. Don’t completely cut him out without hearing his side.”

“How about we just drop it for now?” Nika snaps.  Not wanting to hear it.

Nika turns and strides out of the bathroom.  Taylor follows her. She can tell that her friend is a bit hurt that she isn’t talking more.  But it doesn’t matter. Nika refuses to talk about it more. She’s already on edge, worried that people are starting to pick up on her secret.  She’s kept it hidden for 20 years.

Taylor throws on a pair of heels, and Nika grabs her favorite combat boots.  Fashionable _and_ useful. “You ready to go?” Nika asks, as she finishes lacing her boots up.

Taylor is looking at her, shaking her head. “I never understand how you do it.”

Nika gives her a cocky smile.  She knows _exactly_ what Taylor is referring to. “Do what?”

“Manage to look like some fricken Russian supermodel with leggings, no make-up, combat boots, and a freakin baseball cap.” Taylor rolls her eyes.  “Meanwhile, I’m over here all dressed up, and you’ll be catching everyone’s eye.”

Nika nudges her, “Hey people still think I’m taken.  You on other hand have twice as many offerings as I do.”

“It’s a curse Kira.  I see a hot guy and I’m in love.  I see a hot girl and I’m in love. There’s no winning.”

Nika laughs at her, “Well you could always develop my strategy.  Minimum effort, maximum results. That will bring out best of them.”

“Shut up.” Taylor jokes.  “Let’s get going.

* * *

Taylor opens the door and Nika ducks in behind her.  She flashes her fake ID-- the curse of being young in college, she would be legal in Russia-- and they let her in.  They instantly hook up with a group of recently graduated pre-med students. “Hey guys.” Nika says brightly, weaving her way over to them.  “I’m driving tonight, so you can all get hammered.”

“Hell yes.” One of her friends says.  Nika rolls her eyes, and shoulders her way to the front of the bar.  In their group, Nika was clearly the muscles-- men included. “We got, one, two, three… seven it looks like.  Seven shots. What do you guys want? Something mixed, Kamikaze’s? Or just fireball?”

“Kamikaze’s work.” One of them says.  The rest nodding agreement. Nika slides some cash over to the bartender when he brings the shots.  Paying early is easier than building up a tab.

“You don’t have to pay for us.” One of her good friends, Cody, mutters from behind her.

“Oh I know.” Nika agrees, starting to hand out the first round, “I’m only paying for this round.  This is all I’m having tonight. You can pay for your own after this.”

“Works for me.” Another one of her friends, Sammy says as she takes her drink.  

“No Oscar tonight?” Heather says, giving her a concerned look.  

“They had a row.” Taylor jumps in to the conversation.

Nika throws an elbow into Taylor. A silent warning to not say anything else.  

“Yeah, huge fight this morning.  We broke up.”

“You’re kidding me!” Wyatt, the tallest in the group, is looking at her in shock.

“Nope. Tay reckons I should talk to him more.  I might.” Nika shrugs. She really doesn’t want to discuss this right now.

“By talk, I’m assuming you mean throat punch him?” Cody questions, giving her a sideways glance.

Nika winks at him, “You get me.  But anyway, I don’t want to talk about it.  So we’re here to party. And you lot are here to get drunk off your ass.  So let’s drink to future doctors of America.”

“That’s assuming we all graduate.” Spencer chimes in for the first time that night.  He was never very talkative.

“Way to be optimistic.” Heather mutters.  

“Can we just clank our glasses and get drunk already?” Taylor jumps into the conversation.  Jokingly exasperated.

They all laugh.  Nika raises her glass with her friends and they all knock back their shots.  Nika waits patiently by the bar as her friends all turn to order more drinks.  Mostly bottles all around.

“You sure you don’t want any more?” Wyatt asks.

Nika shakes her head, “I’m good.  I can have good time sober.”

“All right!” Taylor bounces back over to Nika, “Let’s hit up that dance floor.  See if we can both go home with dates.”

Nika shakes her head in amusement.  Taylor was something else. A bit over the top sometimes.  “We can shop for you. Let’s go dance.”

* * *

Nika is leaning up against the wall, watching the party still going on around her.  Most everyone is getting tipsy at this point, and a handful of students are already drunk. It was going to be an entertaining night.  Being the sober one is always a good time. Well, Nika usually _is_ sober, never really getting drunk. She has an annoyingly high alcohol tolerance. Not surprising considering who she is.  

Taylor comes walking back over to her, another mixed drink in her hands.  All of their friends were in relationships. Nika and Taylor were the sole members of the singles club in their friend group-- well, now, after Nika’s recent breakup.

“How many is that?” Nika remarks, raising her eyebrows at the new glass in her friend’s hand.

“I have no clue.  Why aren’t you drunk yet?”

Nika shakes her head, smiling, “I’ve had one shot. You know this.”

Taylor takes a long drink from her glass, then puts her hand on Nika’s shoulder.  “But you should!” Nika meets her gaze, still shaking her head in amusement as Taylor continues with her poorly thought out plan. “You can go hit on someone and have some fun and Oscar will be so mad.  Drunk payback is soooo much fun.”

“How about this.” Nika plucks the drink out of her friend’s hand, and replaces it with a water bottle. “Let me just take that.  I think you need small break.”

Taylor looks at the water, frowning.  “I guess you’re right.” She mutters, downcast.  “Probably smart to slow me down.”

“Damn straight.” Nika says curtly, “Anyway, back to dancing? We still gotta hook you up.”

Taylor takes a long drink from her water bottle and then they start to head back to the middle of the club.  It’s ridiculously crowded in here, the music blasting loudly. Good music though, so Nika won’t complain. If anything happens, she’s armed.  She makes it a point to always be prepared.

Her thoughts distracted her and a tall guy suddenly rams into her shoulder.  He’s built like a stupid football player. Nika is strong, very broad-shouldered, muscular, and she still has to stumble back to stay on her feet.  Whoever it was doesn’t bother to stop walking. Nika turns to face him, furious. “Hey!” She snaps at him “Watch where you’re fuckin going.”

Taylor grabs her arm.  “Kira, don’t start fights.”

Nika ignores her friend. “Hello, I’m talking to you.” She snaps, walking after him.  The guy turns to look at her. He’s a pre-med student too, but she can’t remember his name. “I think you owe me apology for slamming into me back there.”

The student is wide-eyed, almost shocked.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice.”

“Well look where you are fuckin going.” Nika repeats, crossing her arms.

“I’m sorry.” His eyes are wide.  He looks nervous, as he should be. She kind of had a violent reputation… “I guess I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Taylor is still tugging on her arm, trying to get her to stop.  Nika gives him one more cold glare. “Well stay out of my way.” She turns on her heel and walks back towards the dance floor.  

At the very least, dancing and partying with her friends is turning out to be great therapy. Nika keeps an eye on her watch as they all hang out together. She doesn’t want to be out too late, when she’s supposed to be volunteering at the hospital in the morning. It’s another thirty minutes or so later, when a random creep slides up and starts trying to dance with her.  She “accidentally” elbows him hard in the stomach, and “accidentally” steps hard on his toes. Idiot still isn’t backing off. He just steps closer, a playful smile on his face. “Heard you’re single now.”

“That’s none of your business.” Nika retorts coldly. Someone was going to get their nose broken in a second.

He presses his luck. “Come on sweetie. Let me buy you a drink.”

Nika freezes at that word, blood roaring in her ears. _How. Fuckin. Dare. He_. She doesn’t care that people are watching. No one calls her that.

Nika is facing him in an instant. He’s going to regret that. He’s going to regret all of it, trying to make a move on her. She grabs his shoulders, turns away, pulls him towards her. Then a quick squat, and lift, pulling his arm forward. He’s flipped over her back, dropped from her hip, and she slams him to the ground, hard. One of her hands is on his throat.

A few people around her gasp and scramble away. Nika doesn’t get what their problem is. It’s not like this is her first instance of seemingly unwarranted violence....

The student holds both of his hands in the air. He’s shocked. “Do not fuckin call me that.” She snarls down at him.

“Whoa. Kira, Kira.” Taylor is at her side in an instant. She grabs Nika’s arm gently. “I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”

Nika glares down at him. “Leave me alone.” She hisses, letting him go. “Tupoy idiot.” She mutters as she backs away.

The student sits up, looking shocked. Taylor sighs and runs after her. “Kira, what the hell?”

“Drop it Taylor.” Nika snaps as she heads back towards the bar. Screw being the DD. They can call an Uber to come get them. She needs a goddamn drink.

By the time she gets to the bar again— it takes a while with how crowded it is— her head is fuckin pounding.    _Of course it is_.  For some reason, the music is really getting to her tonight. It seems louder than normal. She’s getting a headache

Taylor is saying something, something about more drinks? _Um yeah, I want more drinks.  That is why I’m fuckin up here._ But she can’t even get that snide remark out. _What the fuck is going on?_ God, she feels horrible. Her senses feel like she’s underwater. Things getting blurred and muffled. But the music is still blaring.  Wait, is that Taylor trying to get her attention?

“Taylor you feel alright, don’t you?” Nika finally asks.

“Yeah, I mean,” Taylor starts laughing, “I’m a little tipsy again, but I feel great outside of-“

Nika doesn’t hear the rest of it, because all of a sudden the ground seems to lurch beneath her. She instantly leans on the bar to steady herself.  Her breathing is getting heavier. And the realization suddenly hits: someone has drugged her.

Taylor looks at her, concerned. “Kira?” She sounds scared, “Are you okay?”

“Taylor, something is wrong.” Nika responds.  The pounding is getting worse.

“Are you sure you haven’t had anything else to drink?”

Nika doesn’t respond as the pain in her head triples. She clenches her teeth, the tension building. Nika leans her elbows onto the bar now, pressing her hands to her head. Anything to relieve the pressure. It’s getting harder to draw in air. What is happening?

“Taylor. The room. It is spinning.” She gets out.

Her friend rushes over to her, and that’s when it happens. Her legs get weak and her knees buckle. Nika can see the ground rushing up to meet her as the world turns to black.

* * *

Nika comes to, blinking slowly, looking up at the ceiling--  _ wait, where is she? _ A strap is pulled tight across her head. She blinks harshly, her eyes adjusting to the light. Nika raises her hand-- or tries to. But she can’t move it. And she can’t move her head to see why. For the second time that night, the horrible truth comes to her. She is strapped down to a table with no escape.

Nika jerks violently against the restraints, testing them.  But they don’t budge. She takes a few steady breathes, her eyes flicking back and forth. She tries to appear as calm and collected as possible: which is hard to do when she can only move her eyes.

Someone tugs on the straps. Then the one across her forehead is pulled even tighter and Nika lets out a hiss of pain as it digs into her forehead.

“It’s a shame you’re awake.” A man’s voice reaches her ears. A familiar voice. Nika’s eyes flicker back and forth, trying to see who is holding her hostage. She can hear the footsteps circling around her, and then he finally looms over her.

“It’s you.” Nika says slowly, recognizing the man. The stalker from the day before.  _ Oh he’s going to pay for this. _

He smiles, curious. “This would have been so much easier if you would have stayed out for all of it.  But I can’t deny it. This’ll be much more fun with you struggling.”

_ Oh you’re a lucky bastard. If I was free, you would be dead in a heartbeat. _ Nika thinks to herself. She jerks on the restraints one more time, hoping to loosen them. Nothing. She glares up at her kidnapper again, until he retreats out of her limited line of sight. She wants nothing more than to get out and snap his neck. He deserves it. Following her, spying on her…. fuckin kidnapping her!  But underneath all the anger and hate, Nika is terrified. Not for what he is going to do. What if he found out? The truth, who she really is? She has been hidden for so long. No one, no one, can ever find out.

She can hear him retreat, and start rummaging through…. something. The lack of input is driving her crazy. It sounds like he is going through a cart that has small glass and metal objects on it. Then he stops, and she can hear the footsteps approaching her once more.

His next words send a chill down her spine, and doubled her hatred of the man, “Let's get started shall we?”

The man’s face appears above her once more.  “You look normal.” He muses, curious. He circles back around her. Nika takes a few deep breaths, not looking around anymore.  She fixes her eyes on the ceiling.

“So, you are one who’s been stalking me.”

The man ignores her.  A cool cloth is pressed to her arm, like he’s wiping it off for some sort of injection.  Nika grits her teeth. She’s trying not to flinch away. He can’t know how much she’s freaking out inside.

“You know, I appreciate creativity.” She says curtly. “But this isn’t sort of kink of mine.”

He ignores her again.  A needle is slipped into her arm.  She grits her teeth at that, understanding what’s happening. He’s drawing blood. He’s silent as the blood is pulled out of her.  Some movement and he’s walking back over. “Interesting.” He mutters. Nika ignores him. She has no idea how far he’s going, what his plans are.  She turns her attention to outside. Five minutes pass. She’s building the storm up slowly. 

“So what? You’re going to run some tests on me? What are you even looking for mudak?” She sneers out.

“Kira…” He adjusts the needle in her arm, “Is that even your real name?”

“Like I would tell you.” She hisses the next words out through clenched teeth.  It’s starting to rain outside. “Now what. Are you doing.  _ To me _ .”

“You play dumb very well.” There’s more movement by her side. Then he’s walking around her again. “I know what you are.”

“I’m pissed, that is what I am.” The storm is getting bigger outside.  

He sets another bag of what she can only assume is a second pint of her own blood on the cart.  “You can hide it all you want, but I know one when I see one. You’re a nex-gen Kira.”

Nika’s blood runs cold at that.  That third bag of blood is starting to fill up.   Now she’s starting to feel a small effect from it. “Oh I see.” She keeps her voice calm, ice cold, filled with rage. “You saw me fighting in park and thought wow, girl is better than me, not possible, she must be super-powered.”

The needle is finally pulled out of her arm.  Three pints of blood.  _ That asshole has just taken three pints of blood _ .  “This.” He says softly, heading back to his cart, setting down the third bag.  “Is fascinating.”

“Trakhat’ Tebya.” She grumbles under her breath. “Svoloch’.”

“You see.” His face appears above her again.  “This is your third pint of blood.” Nika can feel the rage building in her again.  _ How dare he?  _ He continues speaking, looking curious. “You should be showing more signs of blood loss.  Pale, maybe shaky a little bit. 30% of your total blood volume. You should be in trouble. But you look just fine? Maybe I should get out a fourth pint.”

Nika takes a couple deep breaths to recover.  She was mostly fine of course. But before she can say anything, the needle is slipped into her other arm.  “A fourth is a good idea, I think.” He says softly.

Silence for the next five minutes.  Her heart rates picking up as the bag fills up.  She’s starting to feel a little fatigued. Nothing too serious.  But enough to freak her out. She  _ hates _ being weak.

The needle is pulled back out, the bag thrown on the cart.  She can feel him wrapping up the two marks. Then his face looms over her again, a curious smile plastered on his face. “That was part one.  Initially I was just planning on getting the one pint. That’s all I need. But I was fascinated by your reaction. I just had to keep going, do you understand?”

“Do you think I am some kind of animal?” Nika snaps at him.  Her head is pounding a little bit, again. Getting drugged and losing 40%--  _ deadly _ for some people-- of her blood volume is having a big effect on her.  

“You’re not human, that’s for sure.” The man retorts.  

The wind is howling outside now.  Rain coming down in sheets. Almost there…..

There’s no warning as something is dug deep into her side. She gasps in pain as the metal digs deep into her muscles, scraping against her ribs.  

“You son of bitch.” She pants out.  

The knife, or whatever, is pulled out of her side, and he tapes it up. “Usually a deep wound like that takes two weeks to heal, but with enhanced healing it should take less than one.”

Nika is absolutely besides herself in fury.  _ Who does this? _  “You are literally experimenting on innocent girl, do you realize that? You fuckin piece of shit.” It’s a struggle to get those words out in English.  But she wants to make sure the man knows what an absolute bastard he really is.

“Oooooh language.” He says calmly.

“ _ Oooooh _ fuck off.” Nika mimics. She starts to wiggle a small pocket knife into her hands.  The man is pulling the cart closer, she can hear keys clacking as he types away on some computer or monitor.  It’s annoying that she literally can’t see anything except the ceiling.

“I’m not one of the bad guys you know.” The man tries to explain. “I’m just doing my job.”

Two pads are placed on her head, one on each of her temples.  Nika takes another deep breath.  _ Damn it _ . She wants to fuckin be able to see what’s going on.  What experiment he’s planning on running next.

Her voice is tight as she responds to him. “Because good guys love to torture people. I forgot.”

He ignores her jab.  “Did you know that the brains of psychics work on different wavelengths?” He explains slowly, typing away on the computer again. “This system sends out an electrical pulse, painful but quick, and reads the brainwaves response to the pulse. It compares it to the database of normal people. Of course…”

Nika jerks away harshly as a shock of pain is sent through her body.  

The man types something else on his computer, “We’ll probably need multiple samples.

She can’t let him keep going.  She  _ can’t _ . She has more than enough strength to do this.  Nika closes her eyes for a moment. The straps around her head have become loosened enough for her to twist it and focus. She looks out at the storm, the dark clouds, feels the atmosphere around her. The storm she created outside. Suddenly, a massive tree branch comes crashing through the window.  Glass is shattered everywhere. The front door comes flying open, so forcefully that it’s almost blown off its hinges.

The man jumps up, eyes wide in shock as he takes in the scene.  The massive, raging, monsoon outside. A huge crash of thunder. It’s deafening loud now, the rain is coming down so heavy.  He runs over to the door; trying to shut it. Nika keeps the storm going, building it bigger. He’s wrestling with the wind, fighting her creation. Nika wills the distraction to continue, giving her time to cut free from the straps.

The young psychic turns to glare in his direction.  Just as the man, he  _ has  _ to be an ISA, turns back to her.  He looks shocked, slightly horrified, that she’s free, and pulls his sword out for a fight. But Nika doesn’t let him get any closer. She clenches her fist by her side and a bolt of lightning comes arcing through the ceiling. It hits him dead on: He falls to the ground, out cold.

Nika yanks the pads off her forehead.  She notices one of her knives-- he must have attempted to disarm her-- laying on the cart.  She grabs it and starts to make her way over to the man. She’s going to kill him. Nika is a bit unsteady on her feet. The blood loss is starting to get to her.

A couple more steps, and suddenly, Nika freezes in place. Above the storm, she can hear a faint noise: A car engine. Headlights coming towards the house.  _ Shit. _ She’s torn. She wants nothing more than to finish off the man. But she can’t hang around. She makes a split second decision, and decides to run to the cart instead.  Nika grabs the four bags of blood. The scalpel. The needles. Then she sends another bolt of lightning down. It hits the cart, destroying it completely. The computer is shattered, all evidence destroyed. One more quick glance at the man, and Nika runs to the window, climbs out. Just in the nick of time as a different individual appears in the front room.

Nika doesn’t look back as she runs into the woods. She makes it up the hill and turns back to the house.  _ That fuckin bastard _ . Nika is not an experiment. She thrusts both hands out in front of her, the lightning responding to her wishes. It strikes down all around the house, a terrifying display of her power.

Nika releases the storm to continue on its own.  Her heart is racing. She can’t tell what from. Aftereffect of the drug? The frantic escape? The blood loss? Fear that her secret was almost discovered? A combination probably. At least the storm is relaxing. The heavy rain and crashing thunder drowning out all the noise around her. The howling wind helps to calm her down, keeping her from returning to the house to finish the job.  

It’s not worth going back in there. Not yet. Nika stares down at the house through the torrential downpour, before turning and heading back through the woods. She stops at a creek, rinses the blood out of the bags. Destroying the evidence. She tucks the needles and the scalpel in her pocket-- she’ll dispose of them as soon as she’s home. The empty bags are buried deep in the ground.

Once Nika is satisfied that any proof is gone. She turns and heads back towards campus. She knows exactly which direction to go. The storm slows down a bit. Making it easier to navigate. So she isn’t being neurotic.  Someone really is on to her secret. Someone really is trying to get proof of her true identity. Get her arrested, thrown in jail for the rest of her life. Nika curls her lip at that thought. She just needs to get home, rest, recover. Because as soon as she feels better…. She has an agent to kill. 


	7. Chapter 6 Madness

35 YEARS AGO

The young woman pauses at the door, not quite sure what she’s going to say.  She’s about to break every single rule that she swore to follow. The woman tugs on her long dark hair, a nervous habit.  It’s pulled up into a high ponytail like usual. Then she raises her hand and knocks.

Her friend is there in an instant.  Dee hasn’t changed one bit in the three years she was gone.  She’s still slim and wiry. Her dirty blonde hair tucked up in a messy bun.  She has that intense expression on her face. 

“Tas?” She exclaims, pulling Taisia into a hug, “It’s been--”

“Two years.  I know.” Taisia says, pulling away from the hug.  “Mind if I come in?” 

“Of course, of course!” Dee steps back, holding the door open for her.  Tas strides into the room and goes to sit down at the table. There are textbooks and papers scattered on it.  Dee was not very organized. And she was still in school. Dee follow her in, pausing by the kitchen.

“Need anything to drink?” 

“God yes.” Tas mutters, “Something with a high alcohol content preferably.” 

Dee doesn’t comment on that, thankfully.  Tas looks around the room. She was only eighteen when she got selected.  Eighteen. Now she was twenty. A full year of training. Followed by the experiment: the successful experiment.  Then just one year. One year as a hero. People loved her. She locked up criminals. Saved lives. She did what she was told, followed the rules.  And hated every second of it.

Dee comes to the table, with two glasses filled with ice and a bottle of whiskey.  Tas gratefully takes the bottle, filling up her drink, then passes it to Dee. A few moments as her friend pours her own drink, takes a sip.

“You look amazing Tas.” Her friend comments.

Tas knocks back her whiskey in one drink.  Goes to fill it up again. “That’s what the formula did.  That and gave me enhanced strength, speed, endurance, healing….” She trails off, takes another sip.  “Oh and I have some pretty cool psychic powers.”

Dee is smiling at her.  “I still think it’s incredible that you were chosen.  It was a worldwide application! And now you’re a hero.”

“You told me not to apply.” Tas comments.

Dee shrugs, mixing her drink around. “You have to admit, it’s pretty cool though.”

Tas leans forward on the table, raising her eyebrows. “Oh, I don’t regret applying.  It’s amazing. I like being powerful, unbeatable.”

“What is it then?”

“I don’t like who I work for.” Tas turns to the kitchen at that.  A flick of her hand and the pantry door comes flying open. She opens her palm and a bag of chips comes flying to her hands.  Tas starts to munch on them, aware that Dee is staring open-mouthed at her. 

“What?” Tas says curtly, “I did say I had psychic powers.”

It takes Dee a long time to respond.  “So you, um, don’t like your work? For the President anymore?” She shakes her head, like she’s confused.  

“Exactly.” Taisia fixes her friend with a dark glare. “Hart keeps us on a tight leash. Do you? We can’t take cases unless he approves them.  We have to write reports at the end of each case.”

Dee drums her fingers on the table.  “But that’s just how a normal job works.”

“But you don’t understand.” Taisia goes to fill up her drink again.  “I’m constantly being watched. Always being recorded. I can’t stand it.  I want to be free to do what I want. I’m not free anymore.” She leans back in her chair after that, tapping her hand on the table.  She looks off into space, wondering how Dee is going to react to her statements.

“I just--” Tas pauses, “I think I’m done with it.  I’m not going to keep working for him.”

“I don’t think they’ll just let you loose like that.” Dee says slowly.

Tas scoffs at that.  “Like they could stop me.” She flicks her hand again and the pantry door slams shut so hard that Dee jumps.  “They created me. But they can’t control me. And I’m done with it. All of it. Fighting for a better tomorrow, changing the world, it’s all a sham.  Hart created this program to protect his own ass. Well I say screw him.”

Dee seems to be slightly uncomfortable with how unhinged her friend is acting. “Be careful Tas.”

“No, they should be careful.”  It’s starting to rain outside as Taisia’s anger grows.  “Hell, we heroes should be in charge. Not some stupid normal person.  Those of us that have powers can actually make a change. We don’t need someone keeping us away from discovering our full potential.  Not when our full potential is right in front of us, easily within reach.”

Dee sighs.  “You sound like an evil villain you know.” It’s supposed to be a joke, but Taisia can hear the serious strain underneath it.  “So what? What’s the plan?” 

Tas slides her chair, back, stands up.  She starts to pace in the living room. Agitated. “My plan? My plan is to live my own life.  The government can go to hell. Anyone who gets in my way can go to hell. I am the most powerful person alive and I’m gonna use it to get whatever I want.”

“Be careful Tas.” Dee is still talking in that calm voice, a hint of warning to it now. 

“I’m trusting you Dee.” Taisia says suddenly, stopping her pacing and looking over at her friend. “You can’t tell anyone.”

“I’m pretty sure one of the Originals going haywire is going to be on every news station.” Dee says curtly, crossing her arms.  “But I promise. I won’t tell a soul. Just… be careful. I don’t want to lose my best friend.” 

“Promise me you’ll stay far away from everything? I don’t need you getting hurt.” Tas tries to say it curtly, but her emotions come out a bit.  Dee is her best friend. She doesn’t want her getting caught in the crossfire. 

“I promise. Just, please,” Dee stands up and walks over to her.  She puts one hand on Taisia’s shoulder. “Be careful.”

Tas turns and gives her friend an affectionate smile. “I never am.” Then she turns, walking quickly out of the house.  She has some business to attend to. 

* * *

Thankfully it doesn’t take long to track down her first victim.  Taisia wants some of the people who hurt her in the past to get their karma.  She was going to deliver it. And what better way to start than to go and pay a visit to her sweetheart from secondary school.  She unlocks the door with ease, opens it slowly with her hand. And there he is. Zayn is relaxing on a chair. Reading a book. He hasn’t noticed her yet

Tas clears her throat, trills the words out. “Would you look at who it is?  It has been quite a long time, old friend.” Taisia smiles as she strolls into the room.  It’s satisfying to see how his mouth drops open in shock. She smirks and steps closer. The man is on his feet in an instant. He takes a hesitant step backwards.  He looks scared.

Good.  She walks closer, enjoying his discomfort.

“Remember me?” She asks softly.  A few more steps forward.

Zayn swallows hard.  He’s staring at her. Not moving a muscle.  He’s terrified. 

“I sure remember you.” It’s cold.  Taisia’s smile disappears from her face.   _ Now  _ Zayn is backing up again.  He can’t go any farther though as he backs straight into the wall.  Tas stops her approach, fixing him with an icy glare. He knows how screwed he is now. 

“I remember you broke my heart.  I caught you sleeping with that bitch.  On the same night that we were supposed to be  _ celebrating- _ ” she hisses that word out, “--That I got chosen to be a hero.  You let me down.” 

Zayn opens his mouth to respond but she cuts him off before he can get a single word out. “Don’t interrupt me.” Tas practically snaps those words out. “It wouldn’t be good for your health.” She walks forward again.  Now she’s only a few feet away from him. Her hatred growing. Tas lets the playful smirk return to her face. Trying to make him even more afraid. She loves his fear. 

“You had so many excuses.” She continues. “My naive little self accepted them.  Maybe we just weren’t meant to be. I tried to understand. But now.” Taisia pauses, opening and closing her hand.  He’s watching it closely. Zayn knows she has powers, “Now things have changed.” 

“I didn’t mean to hurt you!” He blurts out, “I just--”

“What did I say about interrupting?” Tas says coldly, cutting him off.

Zayn pushes himself off the wall. Takes a step forward.  “What are you gonna do Tas? Hmmm? You gonna kill me?” 

Tas smirks at that, “Exactly.”

The color drains from his face.  Zayn’s eyes flash around the room.  Tas doesn’t make a move. She’s curious to see what he’s going to try.  What foolish move Zayn will attempt to make. Suddenly, he lunges forward, trying to get around her.  Taisia almost laughs.

The psychic turns, flicking her hand.  The man goes flying across the room. He hits the wall hard, sliding down it and hitting the floor.  Tas starts after him. She holds her hand out and a knife from the kitchen comes flying into it. She’s still walking towards the man.  Zayn seems to be struggling to push himself upright. 

She sends the knife at him now, and it pauses at his throat.  Tas crosses the room quickly. There’s a thrill running through her.  This is her revenge. 

“I thought you were supposed to be a hero.” He says, trying to be brave.   _ How cute.  _

“Heroes don’t get to have fun.” Tas responds calmly, kneeling down next to him.

She reaches out, gently grabbing the knife back into her hand.  Zayn can’t hide his terror now. His eyes continue to flicker around the room.  He knows that there is no escape. But he’s still trying. Probably why Taisia had fallen for him in the first place.  The man did not give up easy. 

“Everyone still thinks of me as a hero.” Taisia says softly.  She now has Zayn’s full and undivided attention. Perfect. She continues her speech.  He should know what’s about to happen. Why it’s happening. Zayn should understand that he  _ deserves  _ to die. “Me? A hero? A foolish idea really.  Screw morals, and forget about doing the right thing.  Heroes are just those that are too weak to seek revenge.”

On that last word, she grabs his head in her hands and twists it, snapping his neck and killing him instantly.  Taisia lets him go and watches as his body falls to the ground. She looks down at Zayn in disgust, and then kicks him for good measure.  A quick, painless death. At least he died terrified out of his mind. With a soft smile, she turns to leave. One down. So many more to go before she was finished. 

* * *

Taisia strolls down the street.  Perfectly at ease. Three down now.  She has no weapons on her. It was more fun to use her powers to scare the shit out of her victims anyway.  Kitchen knives were proving to be very fun and useful tools for the job. She taps through her phone, finding the best music to play.  

Tas hums along to her music as she continues to head down the street, towards her home.  She turns down another road, and three people step out in front of her. The psychic stops, slowly pulling her earbuds out.  The men in front of her are all wearing the SE uniforms.  _ Of course.   _ It was only a matter of time until the President sent his little warriors after her.  Cute, really, that they thought they stood a chance at subduing her. 

“Hello men.” She says casually, flashing them a brilliant smile, “How is it going?”

“Taisia.  Former hero.  You have broken the law.” The leader of them steps forward.  “Broken the contract that you signed. Broken your oath.”

Tas yawns at that, bored.   _ Blah blah blah.  _ If they didn’t want her to break her oath, they should have made it more flexible.  

The man continues. “You are under arrest, by order of the President.”

Tas laughs softly at that, shaking her head. “You don’t want to do this darling.”

The man gives her a curious look. “Taisia. It will be easier for everyone if you do not resist.”

There it was. They thought she actually  _ cared  _ if she hurt them or not. Please.  

Taisia laughs again. She spreads her arms wide. Showing them that she’s weaponless-- like that makes a difference.  “Well come and get me boys.”

The SE’s look to their leader for confirmation that they can move forward.  The leading man gives a terse nod. As one, they all start to advance on Taisia.  She lets them. They pull out weapons and tas turns her attention to the sky. The clouds are starting to gather overhead.  The sky is getting black as the sun is blotted out. The fools don’t seem to notice the massive storm forming. Maybe they need a demonstration.

The first one comes charging at her.  Taisia shoves her hand out, and the weather responds.  A huge gust of wind throws him back. She turns her attention to the second and third one’s who are rushing her.  Her hand that’s thrust forward is clenched into a fist. Lightning strikes down in an instant. It courses through the man.  The blow so powerful that he’s dead-- dead before his body hits the ground. And she’s just getting started.

”I don’t even have to break a sweat to kill you.” She says, voice raised above the storm. She turns both hands towards the men, and the lightning starts striking down all around the SE’s.  The rain starts pouring down on them as well, but none of the rain hits her. Taisia wills it to stay away from her, keep her dry. The man who was knocked back by the wind, throws his sword in her direction, a desperate move.  Tas holds up her hand, and the sword stops an inch from her chest. 

What fools. The president had no idea what kind of monster he had created.  She was more powerful than any of them could have imagined. She shakes her head the weapon near her chest. Then another flick of her hand and it’s launched back to the SE who threw it. The sword slams into his chest.  Two down. She doesn’t hesitate to march across the ground towards the third and final SE. He tries one final attack, and she sidesteps easy and flicks her hand.  The man goes flying up against a wall, hitting it with a sickening crack. He falls to the ground. Blood running out of his head. He’s dead. The force was more than enough to cause a massive hemorrhage in his brain. Easy. Too easy.

Taisia takes one last look at the three men she just killed, and then turns and walks away calmly from the scene, putting her headphones back in.  The storm dies down around her as she heads home. 

* * *

She may have gone too far this time.  It had just started out as simple revenge.  Then those stupid SE’s came after her. And then, things escalated. She couldn’t seem to stop.  Someone would inconvenience her in the slightest, and Tas couldn’t help herself. She would show off her powers before killing them.  Hart had sent more SE’s after her. None were successful. And then the President had called for every last hero to be rounded up and thrown in jail. It was Taisia’s fault.  And she still can’t seem to stop.

SE’s are patrolling the street, even now.  It’s dark and stormy out, reflecting her mood. Tas sneaks along the street, hanging in the shadows. Hopefully no one notices her. She’s honestly trying not to kill anyone else. A few moments of hesitation, and she darts across the street. A quick knock on the door to the house. It’s flung open instantly.

Dee is looking at her. Her friend pokes her head, looks up and down the street. Then a quick gesture, and Tas hurries inside. Dee locks the door behind her.

“Tas!” Dee whisper instantly, pulling her into a hug, “Thank God! I thought you might have been arrested.”

Taisia pulls her hood off her head. “Not yet, but they’re trying.” She says. Her heart is racing as she strolls to the window, looking out into the street.  God, they’re  _ everywhere.  _ They’re going to find her eventually…. “The 48 hours are up, and the Superior Enforcement are everywhere trying to bring us in.”

Dee comes to stand next to her, taking a glance out the window. “I can’t believe Hart is doing this.” It comes out as a hushed whisper. 

“I can.  He’s always been more concerned about keeping his power than keeping his people safe.” Tas mutters.  She backs away from the windows, goes to the kitchen. She gets some water. No drinking right now. She needs to be completely sober in case the SE’s find her and try to arrest her. 

Dee stays by the window for a minute, before turning her attention back to the psychic. “Tell me the truth Tas.  What did you do?”

Tas sighs, takes a long drink from the water bottle. “Okay so, I…” She trails off. But Dee is still fixing her with an intense stare, so Taisia continues. “I… I may have killed someone.”

“One person?”

“Ummmm.” Tas tugs on her hair nervously, “Well, maybe more than that.”

“Two?” Dee tries.

Taisia is still silent.  Her friend might kick her out if she knows exactly what horrors the psychic has committed recently.

“Three?” Dee continues her questioning.  Her face is unreadable. Tas can’t tell if her friend is going to hate her now or not.

“I think closer to ten now.” The psychic finally gets out. 

“You think, or you know.” Goddamn it’s frustrating how Dee is able to keep her face so unreadable.

“Definitely ten people.” She confirms. “And five of them may have been Superior Enforcement officers.”  

Dee closes her eyes for a long moment, trying to process the new information. Tas wishes she would say  _ something.  _ It’s unnerving.  She half expects her friend to throw open the door, yell for the SE’s to come and arrest her.

“I’m sorry Dee.” Tas says softly, she needs to leave. Dee is the one person on the planet that Taisia can  _ never  _ raise a hand against.  Her friend means too much to her. “I should probably go, I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me.”

Dee grabs her arm as she turns to head back out the door. “It’s done.  What’s done is done.” Dee lets go of her arm, but she’s not moving out of the way of the door. “You’re staying.”

Tas hesitates. She wants to get out of here. Dee shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of her mistakes. But she just nods, giving in. For now.

“How many heroes have been arrested?” Dee asks calmly, once she’s certain that Tas isn’t going to dart back out of the house.

Tas takes a deep breath. She sits down on the couch in the living room, Dee following. “22 turned themselves in.” She starts. “There’s still seven of us out there.  I ran into one of them the other day. He has no interest in going to be experimented on again--that’s what they’re doing. Trying to find a way to remove our powers. He’s going into hiding. There’s another hero too, she broke the rules and she’s actually pregnant right now, so she’s on the run. We’re all so massively screwed right now. Because of me.”

Dee is shaking her head at the news. “What the hell has this world come to?  Arresting the people designed to protect us?” 

Tas almost laughs at that. Everything was going fine-- until she decided to go on a murder spree. Until she got drunk on her own power. The psychic clenches her fists. She didn’t regret it. They  _ gave  _ her these powers. She was going to use them and have fun with them. “Technically it’s all my fault.” She says, raising her eyebrows at her friend. Dee knows this. “But he had it coming.  If he didn’t try to keep us on such a short leash then maybe….”

Taisia honestly isn’t sure what she did to deserve a friend like Dee. The woman looks at her for a long moment before speaking. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.  All you have to do is stay here as long as you need to.”

For a minute, Tas is overwhelmed with emotion. Dee was willing to stick her neck out to protect her. She  _ definitely  _ doesn’t deserve it. Without another word, the psychic walks forward, pulling her friend into a hug. She holds Dee close for a minute. Trying to let her know how thankful she is, how much this means to her. She can’t seem to get the words out, so the hug is speaking for her. “Thank you.” She finally gets out. “This means the world to me.” 

* * *

3 MONTHS LATER

“Any news?” Dee asks softly as Taisia sneaks in the door.  The psychic takes care to lock it up. The SE’s were still looking for her. 

“Unfortunately.” Tas mutters. She makes her way over to the couch, sitting down next to her friend. “Nothing good.”

Dee isn’t paying attention to her though. She’s watching the TV. Taisia takes a moment to glance up. It’s some news story about an explosion at a prison. Nothing important.

“Anyway.” Tas launches into her story, “Apparently earlier this week--”

“Hang on.” Dee says suddenly, turning the volume up on the TV.

Tas gives her friend an angry look. She’s not going to just wait around to speak when she has important news to share. “Another original was caught by the SE’s.” The psychic begins again. “The story is that the poor guy resisted arrest so they killed him.  In “self-defense”. But I’m guessing they just wanted him out of the way. They’re really scared of us.”

Dee doesn’t comment ont hat. “Tas.” Her voice is almost urgent. “Look at this.”

She’s about to snap at her friend for not listening, when the reporter’s words reach her.

“-source of the explosion is still largely unknown.  However, first responders believe that there are no survivors.  There were 22 originals inside of the prison, along with 15 staff members.  Even though initially evidence is pointing to a gas leak, the President has not ruled out foul play at this point.”

Taisia freezes in horror. “Oh my God.” She whispers out.

Dee is staring open-mouthed at the screen as well. “Thirty-seven people? I can’t believe this. Thirty-seven?”

Taisia ignores her. She has her eyes glued to the screen. She watches as President Hart appears on the screen, giving an interview.  He looks absolutely mortified: pale, shaky, and on the verge of tears. The psychic turns to look at her friend, and notices that Dee is wiping a couple tears out of her eyes. President Hart reads down a list of names-- of everyone that was in the building during the explosion.  Taisia can feel her anger growing. The man puts on a good show. She can bet he doesn’t really care what happened. 

“It wasn’t an accident.” She growls out, glaring at Hart’s image on the screen. “I know it.  There’s no way a gas line conveniently explodes like that.” 

Dee is still wiping the tears from her eyes. “What do you mean by convenient?” She asks, slightly confused.

Tas is furious. Hart. That fuckin bastard. He set this up. “I bet it was him.” She snarls those words out. “He wants it to end.  Wants to get rid of all of us.” 

Dee isn’t fully understanding. “What? Who?”

“I’m gonna kill him.” Taisia says coldly, still fixated on the President.

Dee sniffs a couple times, before giving her a glance. Slightly apprehensive. “Who?”

Tas turns and gives her friend a look. She’s hungry for revenge. Excited for the opportunity to kill again. She narrows her eyes, imagining flinging the man against a wall. Shoving a knife into his heart. “The president.  I’m going to kill President Hart.”


	8. Chapter 7 мстить

It takes a long time to get back to the apartment in the morning. She’s soaked, the rain still falling, when she gets to her front door. Nika is exhausted. And it has nothing to do with the storm. She hardly broke a sweat when she used her powers like that. But being drugged, losing four pints of blood, and getting stabbed, followed by miles of trekking through the woods? It was all piling up. She really needed to get some rest. 

Taylor looks up as the door opens.  She’s instantly running towards Nika, talking in a rapid-fire way. “Kira, oh my god! What happened, are you okay? Oh my god I was so worried. You just-”

“Taylor.” Nika goes to interrupt her.  But her friend keeps going.

“--Fell to the ground and we couldn’t get you to--”

“Taylor.” Nika tries again. 

“..Guy came over and said that he was--”

“TAYLOR.” Nika practically yells it out. “Just stop okay. I am fine.” She shoulders past her friend, heading to the kitchen to get some water.

Taylor follows her. “Kire, what happened? Do you have any idea how scary it was?”

“Believe me, I know how scary it was.” Nika mutters under her breath.  She grabs a glass and gets some ice water.

“What did you say?” Taylor says. She’s so concerned.  

“Nothing okay. I just um, yeah that--that guy.” Nika has no clue who her friend was referring too.

“We’re so lucky that ISA was there.” Taylor says. “He took you to a private hospital, said he was going to get you fixed up. But why are you soaked if he was helping you?”

Nika ignores that question. She takes the new information and runs with it. “The ISA? Yeah, he just. Fixed me right up. Was some sort roofie deal.” She lies.  

Taylor is  _ still  _ freaking out. It’s starting to get on Nika’s nerves. “Are you okay? Seriously, are you okay? I can’t believe someone would drug you.” 

It takes a lot of effort not to snap at her friend.  She was, after all, just trying to help. But it didn’t concern her. She didn’t need to know the details. “Important thing is that I’m fine okay. Just please, stop worrying.”

Taylor is practically in tears, she’s so distraught. “Are you sure though? Kira you went down hard. And fast. I thought you were gonna die.”  

Nika turns to her furious. Another deep breath, trying to control her anger. “Taylor. Please. Drop it.” She emphasizes the next sentence as much as possible. “I promise I fine.”  

“Are you sure? Do you need anything?”

Taylor, I fuckin said drop it.” Nika snarls out, slamming her fist on the counter. 

Her friend jumps. “I’m sorry.” She mutters. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Well I can help myself just fine. Back off.” Nika keeps that warning tone to her voice.

Thank God Taylor moves on. “You should probably get changed. That storm was insane last night. Did you walk home in it?”

Nika nods, trying to cool off. She’s still pissed.  Anxious. Her secret was almost discovered last night. And that stupid ISA knew. He definitely knew. She  _ had  _ to find him and shut him up. “Yeah.” She responds, trying to figure out what to say. “ISA offered for me to stay night at private hospital but I didn’t really feel like it.”

“Okay, just a random question. Did you by chance find out if he’s single? He was a cutie.” 

Nika gives her friend a cold glare for that. Of course Taylor would be attracted to the dick that was trying to experiment on her. Taylor shrugs, giving her a coy smile.  Then she retreats back to the kitchen, finishing her food. Nika strides back to her bedroom to get changed. Thankfully it was still pretty warm out. She’s a little cold from being soaked for hours, but she definitely won’t get sick from it. 

“Tay, I’m gonna take quick shower.” Nika yells out of her room. 

“Got it, want me to make you anything? I can make some eggs?” Tylor offers.  Of course she’s offering to make her food. Taylor was too nice for her own good. And food is definitely appealing right now.  

“Sure, thanks!” Nika responds, hopping into the shower. Her head is pounding a little bit. Probably from the drug that knocked her out. She looks over the marks left from Edric.  Thankfully the straps didn’t leave any traces-- Nika hadn’t struggled too much. There’s a faint bruise on both arms from where he drew the blood. Nothing to suggest that the needles were shoved forcefully into her body without consent. The cut on her side is deeper than she thought. It bled through the wrap a bit. She’ll change it before going back out to the kitchen.  

Nika quickly rubs her temples. The pads were only on her head for a few minutes. And Taylor didn’t comment, so they most likely didn’t leave a mark. Still. A shock getting sent through her body, starting at her face… she shudders at the memory. She’s satisfied, though, that Taylor will not be asking too many questions. Nika is in excellent shape.

She slides the door back open and throws on shorts and a tank top.  She grabs her brush and starts to head back out to the kitchen, brushing her hair as she walks. 

“Hey, what’s that?” Taylor says softly, pointing at the bruise on her arm. 

“It is nothing.” Nika lies. Casual. “They just drew some blood to make sure that they could treat me properly.”

Taylor decides not to press it. Part of why she was such a good friend. She never pried too much into Nika’s life, She turns back to the stove, and Nika grabs a bottled water from the fridge. She hops up on the counter and continues to brush out her hair, before starting to braid it down her back.  Taylor turns on some music as she cooks. It’s nice to just relax for a bit, not talking. Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. Taylor jumps at the sound, but the psychic just rolls her eyes, turning her attention to the front of the apartment.

Taylor give her a confused glance, but Nika just hops off the counter and goes to open the door.  It’s Oscar. Looking at her, a worried expression on his face. “Mudak.” She mutters, starting to close the door in his face.

Oscar moves quickly, grabbing the door right before it shuts. “Can I come in?”

Nika gives him a stony glare. Apparently he wasn’t getting the break-up concept. 

“Please?”

There’s a long silence.  Taylor continues to cook in the background, trying not to interrupt the two of them.  Nika has no desire to forgive him. She doesn’t want to talk to him, to see him. Hell, it’s taking quite a bit of self control not to go for a knife right now. Nika should really just kick him out of the apartment.

But they also dated for two years. And as pissed as Nika was, Oscar was always a good boyfriend-- up until he started stalking her that is. “Fine.” She caves, keeping the icy tone to her voice. He walks in instantly and Nika forcefully slams the door behind him.  A warning that he should be careful with what he has to say.

Oscar walks over to the living room, casting a glance over at Taylor. He doesn’t want to talk with her around it seems.  Too bad. Nika follows him, stopping a few feet away. She crosses her arms, giving him a furious look. “Well?” she practically snarls out.

“I heard what happened.” He starts. “I just… I had to make sure you were okay.”

“You sure you’re not here to go snooping through my stuff again?” Nika says sarcastically. She gestures vaguely towards her room. “My room is right over there.”

Oscar sounds desperate when he responds. “Kira, I don’t know how many times I have to say this. I’m sure you got my messages. And my texts. I’m so sorry.” He steps closer, and Nika takes a step back. Lip curling in anger. Did he honestly expect her to forgive him? She wasn’t known to be the forgiving type. Oscar continues trying to explain himself. “It was a stupid, jealous thing to do and I got obsessed.”  

Oscar was a shit liar. “And you really think I’m dumb enough to fall for your bullshit excuses?” She snaps out.

“Can you just... Kira. Damn it. I’m trying to make sure that you’re okay. I was worried out of my mind. From what I heard, you went down hard. Taylor was scared for your life.” Oscar steps closer to her again. Nika’s hand flashes to ehr side, ready to pull out a knife. If he was really stupid enough to keep trying to make a move on her. “Kira. I was scared you were going to die.” 

“I am fine.” She says curtly. “Satisfied? You can leave my apartment now.” Nika turns her back on him, heading back to the kitchen.  Taylor quietly hands her a plate and then retreats to her room. 

Thank God. Food. Nika starts to scarf it down right away. Oscar better be gone by the time she’s done eating. Or he’s going to end up in the hospital….

The  _ idiot  _ breaks the silence after a few moments. He wanders closer. “I don’t know what I can say to make it up to you.  I still care for you. A lot. We were gonna move in together. Don’t tell me that one small mistake is gonna change that completely.” To his credit, he does sound sorry. Desperate to make her understand his point of view. 

But Nika doesn’t want to hear it. She’s not willing to just brush off his snooping. Not when she actually  _ does  _ have something to hide. Not when there’s already someone on to her secret. And honestly, Oscar was more of a fling. Sure, she liked him. Liked hanging out with him, working out together, going to parties… the sex was a bonus too. But she didn’t love him. And she would never trust him with her secret. 

“You know what you can do to make up for it?” She says, casting a glance in his direction. “Nothing.  Absolutely nothing. And in case I haven’t made it clear, “we” aren’t thing anymore. So why don’t you just stay away from me?”

“Because I don’t want that. And neither do you.” He tries.

“You don’t know what I want.”  _ I don’t fuckin need you in my life, jackass.  _

“I messed up once.  Don’t I deserve another shot? We’ve been together for two years.  I don’t want to just let that all go.” He’s practically begging her. Pathetic. 

Nika is about to send him packing, but then the idea springs to her mind. He’s clearly looking for something. She has to know what’s going on. There’s a game going on here, and she needs to figure it out before her secret is revealed. Nika breathes in deeply, needing to control herself. “Fine.” She growls out. “You want one more shot? You got it.  So why don’t you start by leaving me alone, and getting out of my home hmmmm?”

Oscar brightens at that, smiling for the first time. “So I’ll call you then?”

“If I don’t change my mind.” Nika grumbles, “Get fuck out.”

He nods, not pressing the issue, thinking he has won the argument for now. Nika doesn’t care for him anymore. But if she can find out what he was looking for… then she can fake it for a little bit. 

Nika spends the rest of the day napping. It’s early afternoon when she heads off to the gym. Joel and Travis gave her a spare set of keys last year, since she spent so much time training. She yanks open the door and walks in. Gets the radio started. Wraps her hands. She flexes her hands eagerly, trying to decide what to do first. She’ll start with a workout circuit. Before jumping into the combat practice. The music blasts out of the speakers, a welcome distraction to the fear that the man was out there… on to her deepest secret…..

 

* * *

Nika stands in the center of the gym.  Her hands are wrapped in tape from earlier training.  She’s been here for hours. And she’s still mad. Nika wipes the sweat from her forehead, before jumping right back into her training. She runs forward, throwing a knife on the move.  It’s embedded in the wall up to the hilt. She grabs another knife off the rack. A quick twist and she throws it against the wall on the opposite side of the gym. She can’t seem to stop.  Nika grabs more knives from the rack. One at a time, finding imperfections in the paint job to aim for. Sh hits her made-up targets every time. Nika turns to the rack, letting out a curse when she realizes it’s empty. She runs forward again, yanks a knife out of the wall. No hesitation. She turns quickly, towards the front door, and throws it. She grabs a few more knives out of the wall and keeps throwing them. Imagining that stupid man standing in front of her. 

She’s so focused on the task that she’s hardly aware of the door opening, Travis walking in.  One of her knives whizzes right past his head. It misses him by an inch. 

Travis is unconcerned.  He just blinks, slightly surprised. “Why are there knives in my wall?”

Nika pauses at his question.  She has one hand raised, ready to throw another blade.  Travis raises his eyebrows, looking for an explanation.

“No reason.” Nika growls out.  She throws the dagger. It’s embedded in the wall as well.  Nika grabs another one out of her jacket, just as Joel comes walking in. He has to duck quickly to get out of the way.

“What the?” Joel turns around, working on yanking the knife out of the wall.  It takes a couple pulls, and when it does come loose, he stumbles back a few steps.  Travis comes walking voer to her, looking concerned. 

“Kira, what’s going on?” Travis tries.

“Nothing.” She takes aim at the wall again, throws the knife.  It slams into the wall in the exact spot where Joel had just pulled out the other blade.  The man rolls his eyes in annoyance and turns to yank the new weapon out of the wall.

“Stop throwing knives at my wall!” He snaps when it comes loose. 

Nika prepares to throw another knife, but Travis grabs her arm. A risky move on his part. She turns and gives Travis a furious glare. Her friend doesn’t back down though. “It’s not nothing.” He says calmly. “What happened?”

Nika yanks her arm out of his grip.  She lowers her arm, puts the knife back on her belt. But Nika has no intention to answer his question.  She just heads over and starts pulling knives out of the wall. Travis follows her. “It is nothing serious.” She snarls out. Travis is acting like some sort of shadow, hovering around her.  It’s really pissing her off.

“The wall begs to differ.” Joel calls from where he’s still standing by the entrance. 

“What happened to your arm? Did you give blood?” Travis says suddenly.  He must have noticed the little marks on both of her arms, the small bruise. Taylor had noticed too.  She should really consider wearing long sleeves once in awhile. 

Nika looks over at him for a long moment.  Then she sighs heavily and walks over the the bench. Both of her friends follow her, looking concerned.  She ignores them both once more, starting to unwrap her hands.

“Did something happen this weekend?” Joel finally dares to ask.

“Da.”

Joel and Travis wait, as if they’re expecting her to answer.  Nika starts to unwrap her other hand. The last thing she wants to do is talk about the party. She’s worried that Joel and Travis, retired SE’s, will instantly guess who she is. 

Travis is the one who presses for more information. “You going to tell us what happened or do we have to start guessing?”

Nika swallows hard, trying to decide how to proceed. She has to be careful not to give herself away. “I think I’m in trouble.” She finally gets out. 

Travis and Joel exchange a glance. “What do you mean?”

She may as well tell them the details of what happened. She can probably trust them with that at least. “I got drugged and dragged away.  To, well.” Nika gives them a hesitant look. “I don’t know if can trust you.”

“Someone drugged you? Who was it, I swear to god--” Joel starts.  

Travis interrupts him. “I’m gonna kill them.  Who the hell was it?”

The pressure in Nika’s chest lets up a little bit.  They’re more interested in making the man who hurt her pay, over finding out  _ why  _ he tried to hurt her.  It’s a relief, really, that they trust her so much.

It’s easier to talk about what happened now.  Now that she knows her friends will likely take her side. “That guy, stalker, from other day, he’s ISA.  And he tried to run experiments on me.” She explains curtly. 

Both men are deathly silent after that, looking at her in shock.  Nika hesitates, trying to decide what to say next. Everyone knew that the ISA’s had a specific goal, a specific purpose. But she can play dumb, throw them off her path. They can’t guess who she is. Finally she takes a deep breath and looks up at her friends, giving them a questioning glance. “Why would ISA be after me?”

Silence again for a long moment.  Nika starts to stuff her wraps in her bag. Travis is the first one to speak. “You know for sure that it was the ISA that dragged you away from the party?” 

Nika nods instantly. “Da, Tay told me that ISA came running over when I passed out, flashed his ID, and said he was gonna take me to hospital and make sure I was okay.”

Travis presses for more information. “And then?”

Nika clenches her fist at the memory. Her words come out in a snarl. “I woke up. Strapped to fricken operating table. And he drew my blood,” Nika lifts up her shirt, showing the deep cut on her side, “Sliced me open, and then jackass put electrodes on my head to read brain waves.” 

Travis looks at her, he’s furious.  Joel looks more thoughtful, like he’s trying to piece together a puzzle.  Figure out what went down the other night. “How did they drug you? Spike your drink?”

“Nyet. Definitely not.” Nika pauses, trying to connect the dots. “I’m not sure really. I had one drink with my friends. Early. I went down few hours after that. The shots were made right in front of us. And my friends were all fine.I really have no clue how they got me.”  _ Unless there’s some drug that only works on nex-gens… _

Travis suddenly looks up, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Did someone bump into you?”

“I was at club Travis. Lot people bumped into me.”

“No like, really hard. Rammed you, wasn’t looking. Not just as accidental shoulder check. More deliberate.” He explains.

Joel looks up, interested, “Wait, you think they may have used--”

“That’s exactly what I think. Kira, did someone bump into you like that?”

Nika hesitates, thinking back on the night. “Da.” She starts slowly. “And I went down probably ten minutes after that... What are you thinking?”

“There’s this new drug that ISA’s use to discreetly knock-out subjects that need questioning.” Travis begins to explain.

His partner jumps into the conversation. “It’s basically this weird arm patch. One side has the stick on it, the other side has a powerful downer drug. Knocks an individual out cold in about five minutes.” 

Nika narrows her eyes, trying to remember exactly what happened. ISA’s had big pulls. They flashed their stupid badge and people would do whatever they wanted. She’s so lost in thought that Travis has to clear his throat to get her attention again. “So yeah, basically they stick it on their arm and just run into someone. The drug gets contact with skin and starts working right away.” 

“But guy, one who experimented on me, he wasn’t one who bumped into me.” Nika says slowly.

“Who was it then?” Travis questions.

Nika shrugs. “Some random pre-med student. I have no clue what his name is.”

“Do you remember what he looked like?”

Nika scoffs at that question. She was  _ known  _ for being well aware of her surroundings. Part of why she was such an excellent fighter. “Of course I remember.”

“I can’t believe ISA’s would drug and test a college student.” Joel shakes his head.  His thoughtful expression has changed. Now he just looks furious, absolutely livid. 

Nika jumps at the opportunity. She knows exactly what the man had been looking for. She can continue to play dumb. She trusts Joel and Travis-- to an extent. There isn’t anyone who she would tell her secret too though. “What were they testing for?”

“ISA’s were formed to basically replace the heroes. The originals. But it rapidly evolved to become a task force that is supposed to hunt down and bring in all of the nex-gens.” Travis explains.

“They think I’m nex-gen?” Nika lets her voice come out shocked. 

“Kira.” Joel says slowly. “I would find the guy that bumped into you and ask him some questions.”

“And do it fast before I find this guy myself and murder him.” Travis agrees.  

Nika hesitates, trying to decide what to say. She ends up just nodding in agreement. “I’ll talk to you guys later.” She gets out, turning to leave. Joel and Travis instantly start whispering together. It makes her nervous-- the idea that her friends might be figuring out who she is. Nika walks out of the gym, closes the door behind her. Then she takes a deep breath.

“I am so screwed.” She mutters. 

* * *

Nika twirls her pocket knife around in her hands. She’s been sitting on the bench at campus for over an hour now. Watching students walk by. Looking for that familiar face….. Scanning for it. The student who bumped into her. She remembered his name. She had a class with him this year, never paid any attention to him. Nika was way out of his league. And frankly, she had no desire to have more friends in her life.

Suddenly she sits up, alert. There he is.

Nika jumps up off the bench, jogging to catch up to him. “Hey!” She says when she gets close. “It is Greg, right?”

He turns to look at her. Oh he is so guilty. He isn’t even meeting her gaze. “Um yeah.” He hasn’t slowed his pace, and he’s tense. “And you’re Kira?  You date that bartender guy?”

Nika scoffs at that, “We are not dating anymore. But da, that’s me.” Of course the guy knows who she is.  _ Everyone  _ on campus knew her. The foreign beauty-- as many called her-- who could kick anyone’s ass blindfolded. All true things.

Greg swallows hard, continuing to walk forward. “Oh. I didn’t know you guys broke up.” 

Nika continues to walk right next to him. He’s getting more uncomfortable with every passing second. She tries to start up a conversation. “You graduated with my class right? Where you headed off to school?” 

“I’m staying here actually.” He’s still refusing to look her in the eyes.

Nika nods, feigning interest. “That’s awesome.  Did you by chance make it to party we had other day?” 

He stumbles over his feet at that. God, what a fuckin idiot. “Actually no.  Couldn’t make it.” He says it too quickly. “I was busy, uh, family stuff.”

Nika nods again, keeping her friendly tone. “Right.”

He turns down a path lined with trees, heading towards the apartments. Nika is still matching his pace. A few more steps and they’re out of sight. Nika takes the opportunity.

Her friendly tone is gone, voice icy cold as she speaks. “If you were not at party, how did you manage to drug me?”

Greg stops suddenly.  He turns to look at her, mouth opening and closing, not sure of what to say.  The smile vanishes from Nika’s face and she glares at him with a dangerous look in her eyes. She steps closer and Greg takes a nervous step back. He starts stuttering out words, trying to explain himself. Like he had any defense. “Listen, I-I, it’s, you--”

Nika doesn’t wait for an explanation. She steps forward quickly, grabbing his forearm. She twists it, pulling his arm behind him. She shoves him up against a tree. He’s stuck in her hold, and any struggling could easily result in a dislocated shoulder… or worse. She leans forward, furious. “What hell did you do to me? Who told you to do it?”

He caves instantly. Still stammering, terrified out of his mind. “I-it was the ISA! He told me that if I wanted to make some quick bucks, all I had to do was bump into you at-at the part-party.  He promised that no one was going to get, to get-- hurt. That it was a matter of national security.”

Nika twists his arm farther and he lets out a cry of pain. What a piece of shit…. “And you believed him?” She practically snarls out.

“He-He said you were dangerous.” Greg gasps out. The hold she has him in is definitely painful.  “It was necessary.”

_ Necessary.  _ The ISA knew her secret. She had to find him. Get rid of him. “Tell me his name.”

“I don’t know it!”

Nika twists his arm some more and there is a pop as his shoulder is dislocated.  He lets out another cry of pain and she lets him go, stepping away, her lip curled in disgust and fury.  She’s furious. It’s been over a decade since someone found out her secret. And now some stupid ISA was on to her. Nika pulls out a knife. Greg is smart enough to not try running from her. 

“His name.” She says curtly, “Or you’re going to be dealing with lot more than just dislocated shoulder.”

Greg holds his hands up, practically cowering before her. He should be scared of her. If only he knew what she was actually capable of…..

“Edric okay, it’s Edric!” He cries the name out. He’s desperate. Scared for his life.

“And his last name?” Nika presses.

Greg is on the verge of panic as he looks at the knife “I don’t know, I swear I don’t know!”  

Nika regards him for a long moment. God, she wants to kill him. Her secret was discovered because this weak, jackass of a student wanted to make a few easy bucks. It takes a lot of self control to put her knife away. She keeps her cold glare on the student though. “Get out of here.” She hisses out. “You tell anyone about this and I will let everyone know that you’re one who drugged me.  I’m sure you don’t want reputation. They would probably kick you out of med school for that.” She lets her threat hang in the air. The murderous look on her face should be enough to scare him into keeping his mouth shut. 

Greg straightens up, terrified, nodding his understanding.  Then, still holding his shoulder, he turns and runs away without hesitation.  Nika watches him go, shoving down her powers, holding back from striking him down where she stands. Then she turns to walk away. Edric. That was his name. He was going to pay for what he did. 


	9. Chapter 8: Hunted

“Welcome back man.” Lukas mutters as they pull up to the safehouse. Ricky crosses his arms.  He’s still miffed that he had to spend more than two weeks in the hospital. A deep stab to the stomach will do that to someone though. Lukas had told him that everything was quiet. The rogues didn’t seem to be making any moves lately. Sadie had tried to speak to Carla and Chang again, but once again, got no answers. Sadie was lucky… _she_ only had to spend one night in the hospital. The cut on her arm only needed stitches.

Ricky jumps out of the car, stretching from the long drive.  His friend is annoyingly quiet, thinking of a plan most likely. He’s not going to wait around. Ricky strides into the safehouse, greets Sadie, and goes straight for the kitchen. He grabs a drink and some of Sadie’s homemade bread, before hopping on a stool. He props his legs up casually. “So…” He starts, between bites of real food-- not some stupid hospital shit, “What’s the next plan?”

Lukas, for once, seems at a loss of words. He exchanges a look with Sadie, then shrugs, “We really don’t know.”

Ricky raises his eyebrows at the two of them. How close did they get when he was in the hospital? At least Lukas wasn’t the dating type.

“The best we can come up with is to let them come after us. Then we can capture one of them. Figure out what they want.” Lucas continues.

“Simple.” Ricky takes a long drink, “They want those two psychopaths out of jail so they can overthrow the government.”

“Well, yes, we know that.” Sadie says slowly, like she’s explaining things to a kid. “But, we don’t know how they’re going about that plan. We need to figure that out.”

Ricky rolls his eyes at that. He’s not appreciating the slow explanation shit. Of course Lucas would be in on this. A plan for the plan. _Not everyone plots things in detail Lukas._ He wants to snap out. But instead he just keeps his voice calm and under control as he responds. “Listen, we know their plan. Let’s just make sure we’re ready to face them when they put it into action.”

“But there’s something else going on. There has to be.” Lukas argues back.

“Not everybody thinks as complicated as you do.” Ricky snarls back. He’s starting to get frustrated.

“And not everything is as simple as you want it to be.”

There it was again. That flash of-- something-- across his face. The irrational anger. Lukas pulls out his phone after that, looks down at it.  Like he’s _waiting_ or looking for a specific text.  What the hell was up with his friend? “Okay Luke.” Ricky starts, “I’m going to ask you one more time. Do you know something about this case that we don’t?”

“No.” He says it too quickly.

Ricky isn’t in the mood to press it. A quick glance at the clock. It’s late. Almost midnight. “You know what?” He grumbles, pushing his chair back and standing up. “I’m gonna go train some downstairs.”

Lukas looks like he wants to argue. But he decides against it. The man just shrugs. “Whatever you want. I’m headed to bed. Don’t overdo it.”

Sadie jumps into the conversation. “I’ll probably head up too. I just gotta give my girlfriend a quick call. Seriously Ricky, don’t hurt yourself. You literally just got out of the hospital.” And on that note, the woman turns on her heel and heads up the stairs. Pulling out her phone as she goes.

 _Girlfriend?_ Ricky turns to give Lukas a curious look, aware that his mouth is partially hanging open. Of course, the first woman he truly was starting to like wasn’t interested in men. “Did you?” he starts.

Lukas laughs at him, shaking his head in amusement. “Dude you’re an idiot. It was so obvious.”

Ricky sighs. “Well, this is embarrassing.”

Lukas pats him on the shoulder as he walks by. “It’s very embarrassing. Anyway, have a good night.” Then he’s gone as well, heading up the stairs.

 _“It’s very embarrassing.”_ Ricky mocks him, as soon as he’s out of earshot. “Well you know what Lukas, any girl would be lucky to date this handsome face. It’s better looking than your stupid face.” Still grumbling under his breath, Ricky goes down the stairs, to the training room. He’s probably lost a fair amount of his skill with the couple weeks off.

He gets right into it. A quick workout plan. A circuit of mostly bodyweight exercises.  Heading his friend’s advice, Ricky increases his rest time. Decreases the intensity. He wants to grab some of the weapons, do some skill work with those. But decides against it. He can do some light sparring with Lucas tomorrow. It’s best to ease back into the workout schedule. Ricky was a naturally talented fighter. He may need a few weeks to get his strength back, but his fighting habits wouldn’t just vanish in half a month.

It’s one am now. A good time to stop and get some rest. Especially since they had no idea what was coming next. The rogues could attack tomorrow. Or they could stay underground, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Ricky doesn’t wish to be caught off guard by them again. He turns to clean up the gym, making sure all the weights and weapons are returned to where they’re supposed to be. Then he goes to take a quick shower.

As he rinses off, he can’t help but think about the mission. How little sense it made. His life’s work was to find and lock up the remaining nex-gens in the world. And now he was focused on the two known ones, trying to _keep them_ locked up. And he still can’t get that idea out of his mind. That it was _personal._ His first thought goes straight to President Hart. It would make perfect sense. Hart was the one who locked up the originals. Shoved them in jail. It only made sense that Carla and Chang would want vengeance against the man. But it didn’t exactly fit. It was like, that was their _end_ goal. But something else was first. Ricky has no clue what that is.

He turns off the shower, gets changed. A quick glance around the room to make sure everything is put away. Ricky turns to go upstairs, and that’s when it happens. All of a sudden, the house is plunged into darkness.  He freezes, heart racing. He connects the dots in an instant. The unusual silence from the rogues. The _day_ he returns from the hospital…. This was a well thought out, planned attack. They were in the safehouse.

He’s about to sprint up the stairs, and go warn Lukas and Sadie. Then he can hear the basement door fly open. Footsteps. Three, maybe four sets. _Shit._ Ricky sprints to the corner of the room, diving behind some mats. They probably had night vision goggles.  Pulling the breaker on the house was step one.

“Ricky!” A voice rings through the basement. Ricky can’t see a goddamn thing in the pitch dark basement of the house. “We know you’re down here. How long do you think you can hide for?”

The agent sneaks along the edge of the room. He’s trying to get into the locker room. There are some emergency lights in there at least. He would stand a chance. Ricky keeps one hand over his mouth, trying to keep his breathing from getting too loud. The footsteps have stopped coming towards him.  Ricky tries to stare into the shadows, make out shapes. He may as well be staring at a black wall. The darkness is _heavy._

A loud ring cut through the silence. His phone. It’s on a shelf by the door. Shit shit shit. Ricky forgot to put it back in his pocket. The agent instantly cowers back behind the mats, trying to stay out of sight the best he can. His phone is giving off just enough light that Ricky can finally make out the shadowy outlines of four rogues standing by the stairwell. The locker room door isn’t too far off. He may be able to make a run for it.

“Hey Rick, it’s your pal Lukas!” One of them calls out, teasingly. “Want me to answer it for you?”

“I wonder if he has any clue the danger you’re in?” Another one says, cold toned.

Ricky clenches his fists by his side. Both afraid and furious. Hopefully, only four rogues came to this planned attack. Lukas and Sadie might stand a chance. If they can get the lights back on… Ricky can probably hold off until then.

“Come on Rick.” The first voice calls out again. “Just give yourself up. We won’t kill you. We just have a couple questions.”

Questions. Right. So torture. Ricky has, thankfully, never been in a position where he’s been tortured for information. He was too skilled, too talented, to get caught in that situation in the first place. But the next words almost make the agent stroll into the open. “Why don’t you get over here? Then Sadie and Lucas can be safe.”

It’s tempting. It’s so tempting to give himself up to save Lucas.  But then again…. Ricky can’t. He can’t risk exposing ISA and government secrets. Even if it would help keep his friend alive. It was who he was. He had to do the right thing. And if that meant putting his friend in a dangerous situation. No matter how hard it would be… Ricky was prepared to do it. A quick glance to the shadowy outlines.

Ricky sprints as fast as he can, darting straight into the locker room. He grabs the door before it can slam shut, closing it slowly behind him. The rogues heard his footsteps. But they probably have no idea where he went.

“Spread out.” One of them commands. “He’s down here somewhere. He can’t hide forever.”

Ricky backs up, trying to find a place to hide. Trying to plot an escape route for when they inevitably find him. The door to the locker room creaks open. Ricky can see two figures stride in, cautiously. Ricky wishes he had the sense to keep a hold of one of his swords from earlier. He has a tactical knife on him. But he’s not very skilled with the short blade.

He waits until the shadows pass, then starts to slowly make his way back towards the door. One hand on the wall as he moves slowly in the dark. This was definitely not his idea of fun. And far from how he expected his first night back from the hospital to go.

He’s almost to the door, ready to make a run for it, when something comes swinging out of the dark. Ricky curses, scrambling backwards from the blow.  Now there are footsteps behind him as the second rogue comes running towards the commotion. They both go on the attack in an instant.

Ricky dives under one of the hits, grabs the wrist of another. His adrenaline is pumping. His heart racing as he tries to fight in the darkness. They had an unfair advantage of sight. He twists at someone moving behind him. But he’s too slow as a blade slices across his back.  A flash of pain. Ricky’s experience tells him that the cut isn’t deep. It’s shallow, but long.

Ricky tries to go on the attack. Hard to do in the dark.  He manages to get a hold of one of their hands. A quick twist and their weapon clatters to the ground. But it’s not going to be enough. Two on one. He can’t see a goddamn thing.

The other rogue quick approaching distracted Ricky from getting his hand son the fallen weapon. He has to scramble back, letting out a hiss of pain as the blade slashes across his arm. The cut is small, but deep. Exact opposite of his back wound. It’s right above the elbow. Shouldn’t get in his way once he gets his own weapon and is able to truly fight back. Assuming he can get out of this first attack alive.

Ricky ducks under another shape that comes towards him. The shadow from behind comes at him again. Ricky tries a different tactic. He lunges forward, tackling the rogue to the ground. A fist to the man’s face. Ricky is rolling to his feet in an instant. He dives-- over this time-- a swing coming at his legs. Then he’s running, back out of the locker room. Into the main area.

There’s a shout. Ricky ignores it. He turns his attention to the staircase. His eyes finally adjusted well enough to peer through the darkness. He sprints towards it like his life depends on it, and it probably does. He rockets up the stairs, three at a time. Slams the door at the top. Then his knife is plunged sideways, through the door, wedging into the door frame. It definitely won’t hold. There are a few bangs on the door. Ricky backs up quickly, trying to catch his breath.

A hand on his back makes him jump. He turns around, grabbing at his attacker. Hand grasping at the man’s shoulders.

“Hey!” a familiar voice snaps out, “It’s me, dumbass.”

“Luke?” It comes out as a harsh whisper.

“Yes idiot.” He hisses out, under his breath. The basement door is still banging behind them. “Sadie is trying to get the lights back on.”

“She’s alone?” Ricky says, shocked.

“She can take care of herself.” Lukas retorts. “Got any weapons on you?”

“No.” Ricky admits grudgingly. He was usually always armed. “You?”

“We have whatever is in the kitchen…” Lukas says.

“You okay, any rogues after you?” Ricky speaks in a hushed whisper.

“No, I think they came straight for you. Sadie and I heard the footsteps come in, and then vanish. I figured they want to take you out: what with your reputation.”

Ricky scoffs at that. “Fuckin great.”

“How many? You’re not hurt, are you?” Lukas questions.

Ricky retreats to the kitchen. The banging on the basement has stopped for now. They’re probably gonna bust through the door any moment now. He feels his way along the countertops. It’s like trying to stare through a black void. The rogues were smart enough to choose a dark, cloudy night. No moon or stars coming in through the windows. The best he can make out are a few shadows. Shadows on shadows, thick and black.

“I’m fine.” He answers slowly, finally finding the knife set. He grabs out a couple of the biggest ones, starts to make his way slowly back to Luke. “And there are four.”

All at once, the lights in the house flicker back on. Ricky gives his friend a triumphant look. He runs over, tossing one of the knives to Lukas. His friend catches it out of the air with ease. They both turn their attention back to the basement.

“So…” Lukas is hesitant, like he’s not quite sure what the best move would be. “Should we open it? Let them at us? Or wait it out.”

“Guys, what’s going on?” A voice from behind him makes Ricky jump. Sadie has just come running into the room. She’s breathless, looking terrified. “What’s going on?”

“We’re being hunted.” Ricky growls out. He winces at the twisting movement. The cut on his back may be shallow, and not dangerous. But it stings.

“I thought you weren’t bleeding?” Lukas sounds annoyed.

“It’s just my back.” Ricky rolls his eyes in exasperation. “Shallow cut. Doesn’t count as a wound really.”

“And your arm?” His friend presses.

“I can fight just fine with my left arm.” Ricky argues back.

Sadie suddenly strides up to them. Like she’s about to smack both of them in the head. “Stop fuckin bickering.” She snaps. “We need a plan. Where are they at?”

“We have them trapped in the basement for now.” Lukas responds.

“Correction.” Ricky says curtly, a bit peeved that his friend was taking the credit for his success. “ _I_ have them trapped in the basement.”

“Well, shouldn’t we get out of here?” Sadie asks. She casts a nervous glance to the basement door.

“I say we let them come up here, take them out.  We’re armed now. Four on two shouldn’t be that hard.” Ricky makes his case. This was actually perfect. Exactly what they had been waiting for.  The rogues had went underground, vanished. They made a reappearance with their well-planned attack tonight. If they could capture them, figure out _exactly_ what was going on… they could keep their perfect record. Figure out the case. Get rid of Carla’s followers. Keep the two psychopaths locked up for good.

“Not to mention.” Ricky continues, as his friends don’t respond. “We have head-injury happy Sadie helping out. So three on four really should be easy.”

A ghost of a smile flickers across Luke’s face. “Try saying that five times fast.”

“Can we focus, please?” Sadie sounds exasperated once more. Well, what did she expect? She was dealing with two agents. Male agents. Did she really expect them to be more professional? The thought is almost laughable.

A loud smash and bang gets Ricky’s focus back. The basement door has finally been wrenched open. On instinct, Ricky steps in front of Sadie. He notices that Lukas is doing the same thing. Trying to protect her, when she is not a fighter.

“I don’t think they’re happy to see us.” Lukas mutters out of the corner of his mouth.

“At least we’re armed now.” Ricky mutter back. The four rogues are slowly entering the room. They all look furious. Ricky doesn’t recognize any of them. So the rogue leader-- Braxton-- wasn’t with them. But he was clearly behind the well thought out assault.

“We’re armed with fuckin kitchen knives.” Lukas hisses back to him.

“We can fight them off.” Ricky assures him. There’s a slight bit of doubt creeping up, but he pushes it away. Ricky never doubts himself. That’s part of why he is such an excellent fighter. “Trust me.” His voice is serious, trying to put as much confidence into his words as he can. “We can take them.”

Together, they back up. Heading back towards the main living room. The only plus is that the rogues have now lost their advantage. Their advantage of surprise and sight. It was a level playing field now.

They back up, heading into the main living area.  One of the rogues walks a little ways in front of the others, and pulls out-- something. Ricky stares at the object for a moment, trying to figure out what it is. The man’s arm comes flying back, preparing to throw. And then it clicks. It’s a goddamn grenade. The rogue throws it. Time seems to slow down. Ricky is aware of Lukas behind him, lunging towards Sadie. Hoping to get her out of the way of the blast. Ricky runs towards the rogue after the grenade is released. But he’s too far away. No chance.

A blast. A massive blast. Fire, deafening sound. Smoke, chaos, confusion. Things start slamming into the ground around him. Something heavy hits his back as the wall behind him erupts. He can’t see either of his friends. Rubble continues to rain down around him from the explosion. Debris is falling down on top of him. Smoke is everywhere. Thick and nearly impossible to see through. He throws his hands up, covering his head. Desperately trying to protect himself….

It seems to be forever before the sounds start to taper off. Before the dust begins to clear from the explosion. Ricky blinks, trying to focus. His head is pounding. Vision blurred. A weapon. He needs to get to his weapon.

It’s laying just a few feet away. He makes a reach for it, but he can’t go far. A twist, and Ricky can see that his leg is pinned down. Trapped under the collapsed wall from the explosion. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be broken. Just pressed to the ground. He  sits up, tries to shove some of the rubble off of his leg. He grits his teeth at the pain. It was _heavy._ Digging into his leg. His knee twisted awkwardly. Another push, and the damn thing won’t budge.

He notices her out of the corner of his eyes. At the same time that he hears the footsteps coming. The rogues. They’re all four walking forward as one. Ricky casts another glance towards Sadie. The diplomat is out cold. There’s a small trickle of blood running from her forehead. But she’s definitely alive. Where the fuck is Lukas?

Ricky struggles a bit, trying  desperately to free his leg. He’s trying to hide his panic as the four rogues approach him. A cold glare in their eyes. Triumphant. He has nowhere to go. No way to defend himself.

“Hey!” A voice interrupts. The rogues turn as one, glancing in the direction of the voice. Ricky struggles harder to get out from under the wreckage. “Over here assholes.”

It’s Lukas.

His friend is walking towards them. Slowly. He has a large gash across his forehead that is bleeding, and small cuts and bruises along his arms-- that are held out in a peaceful gesture.

“Oh back down Lukas.” One of them growls out. “Unless you wish to die today.  We don’t need anything from you.”

Ricky stays silent. Trying to piece together what’s going on.

“I think you’re wrong.” Lukas responds. He steps closer to their attackers.

“What are you doing?” Ricky hisses at his friend, both furious and confused.

Lukas ignores him.  He drops his knife to the ground and walks forward to be face to face with the rogues.  Ricky struggles some more. It’s probably a bad idea: he could seriously damage his leg if he’s not careful. But he doesn’t care. His stupid friend is about to give himself up to be tortured.

“What do you think you’re going to get from my partner?” Lukas continues, back to Ricky. Like he doesn’t care that much. Then, his dumb friend is fuckin _taunting_ the rogues. “The first rule of war: know your enemy.  You don’t know us at all.”

One of the rogues slams his fist into Lukas’ stomach, and he doubles over coughing. Ricky can feel the hate rising up in him. He struggles more, furious. _Leave him alone you fuckin bastards._ Another rogue punches Lucas in the face, knocking him off his feet.  Then, they turn back towards Ricky. Oh thank God. Hopefully they decide to take him. Leave Lukas. Ricky can handle the torture. He won’t give up the government’s secrets.

A voice from the ground. Lukas raises his up, trying to get their attention. “Will you wait. For one.  Damn. Second.” He growls out. Then he pulls himself to his feet, a coy smile playing on his face. “Trust me, you don’t want Ricky.”

“That’s it.” One of the rogues mutters, pulling out a sword. “I’m going to kill him.”

Ricky is biting his lip, hard. Trying not to say anything. Trying to figure out Lukas’ plan, as his friend continues talking. “He cares about his morals, more than anything.”

Ricky is practically shaking in fury as he tries to keep his mouth shut. This can’t be happening….

Lukas meets his gaze for a long moment. Then his attention is right back on the rogues.  “You want him to help you right? Cause that’ll never happen. He’s the worst person to have as a partner.  The right thing must always be done, even if other people die for it.”

The words are a bit harsh coming from Lukas. True, yes. Still a little harsh. Lukas was basically saying that Ricky would sacrifice him for the greater good. True, yes. But it would hurt like hell if Ricky ever had to do that. It would not be easy.

“You don’t understand.” The man says curtly, “We have methods of breaking someone.”

“Oh, I’m sure.” Lukas is up in their faces now. A bold move. “So let me ask… Do you really want the stronger one? Or do you want the one who is more likely to break?”

The reality of what’s happening hits Ricky once more. He can’t help it. The words escape him, as much as he tries to hold them back. “Lukas…” It’s pained. He’s terrified. His friend is going to be dragged away. Tortured. Killed or, worse, turned into something that Ricky will have to fight in the future. The thought is unbearable. “Stop.”

“I’m listening.” One of the attackers says softly.

Lukas still has that smug look on his face. “The solution is right here boys.  Take me.”

“And why would I fall for that?”

 _Don’t fall for it, take me instead._ Ricky prays silently.

“I’ll come calmly.  No struggle. No fighting.” His friend casts another glance his way. “Alba will fight you, tooth and nail, every step of the way.  I can give you quicker results.”

“So you will help us?” The man says, curious.

Lukas shrugs. “Not willingly.  But given time, you might just make it work.”

The rogues exchange smiles, as if looking into the future and all of the plans they had in place. “If you insist…” He looks Lukas up and down. “Grab him.”

The rogues move forward, yanking Lukas’ arms behind his back.  One of them pulls rope from his pocket and starts to tie him up.  They shove him harshly towards the door. Ricky struggles harder. Curses are streaming from his mouth. He’s trying, with all of his might, to get free. To go after them. To bring his friend back. But then the door shuts. A car is started up, pulls away.

Silence.

It’s too quiet.

His friend is gone.

Ricky stares numbly at the door, trying to catch his breath. It’s like time has stopped. He’s too shocked to try to free himself. Too upset to wake Sadie, formulate a plan. All he knows is that his friend, God his stupid, reckless, impulsive, dumbass of a friend, sacrificed himself. Willingly went with the enemy. To be _tortured._ Ricky may never see him again….

“Lukas.” He whispers finally, as the numbness wears off, as the despair settles in. “What have you done?”


	10. Chapter 9: Burden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter (finally) and another flashback. This one kind of starts to tie together the two separate storyline's, gives some more background on one of the main characters.

**20 YEARS AGO**

Taisia doesn’t want  _ this.  _ Not after Vitaly…..

She could almost see it now. The image would never leave. Her husband, yelling her name. She was grabbed by the shoulder. Thrown out of the way. Just as a gunshot rang through the air. And he was on the ground… Her little boy, just two at the time… his confused voice. “Papa?” There was too much blood….

The SE’s had started to come towards her. Tas had flung out her hands, and they all went flying back in the wind. She wasn’t going to kill in front of Leo, and she couldn’t do anything to help Vitaly. Except to look at the body, and whisper a quiet “I’m so sorry.” And then she scooped up her kid and ran. 

She just wanted to kill the President. That was her only goal. Her only dream. And then she met Vitya. He discovered what she was, who she was… and  _ still  _ loved her. Taisia’s desire for revenge, desperation to kill, faded into the wind. She was happy. Happier than she ever was. She didn’t have to go chasing after Hart anymore. Because if she could let her kid be happy, live a normal life. That’s all she wanted. Then the SE’s had ripped it all away from her.

But she had to raise Leo. Take care of him. He didn’t seem to be powerful like her. A little bit with the wind… but nothing outside of that. She would wait until the boy was older before she started going after Hart again. 

Then it happened. Nine months ago. And now, here she is. Holding a three day old baby girl in her arms. Tas doesn’t want to be a mom. She definitely doesn’t want a second kid. 

Dee walks in, closing the door quietly behind her. She had run out to shop for the new kid. It was horrible, but Tas almost wants to up and leave. Leave the little girl in Dee’s arms, her boy in his room doing homework. Dee would raise them much better than she ever could. 

“What’s her name?” Dee asks softly. Right. Tas told her friend she was going to name her today. After three days of being nameless… And she has chosen the perfect name for the little girl.

“Nikita. Little Nika. Means victory. Just hoping that I can give her the life she deserves.” Taisia rocks the girl gently in her arms. 

“Who’s the father?” Dee asks softly, smiling down at the baby in Tas’s arms. 

Tas almost laughs at that. Her girl’s father was…. A piece of shit. “Um well. Remember that guy who I went home with. The one that tried to turn me into the government?”

“Oh you’re kidding me.” Dee sounds exasperated.

“Yeah I haven’t um.” Tas pauses, laughs nervously. “No one since then. No one anytime before either. He was the first in two years. After Vitya... “ She trails off, blinking harshly. She will never be over Vitaly it seems. He was everything. As much as she loves her two kids, Vitya was the one who was there for her. Why couldn’t he be Nika’s father? Not the stupid SE who had pretended to care for her. 

They spent days talking. And one night, when she was extra vulnerable… Trying to raise her little boy by herself. Watching the remaining originals be killed around her… she had went home with him. A wonderful, passionate night. And in the morning, she was cuffed to the bed. Roman was his name. Handcuffing her to that bed was the worst-- and last-- mistake of his life. 

“He’s the father.” Tas confirms.

“You killed him too, right?” 

“Yep. He was asking for it.” Tas returns her attention to the baby in her arms. “She’ll never know her dad. Never needs too.”

“She looks like you.” Dee whispers softly. 

Tas nods in agreement. It wasn’t true of course. Her little boy looked like her. Dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, her high forehead. Nikita was going to be powerful, just like her. The girl may look completely different, but what was inside was the same. There was a massive storm the night the girl was born. She had a sharp intelligence in her grey eyes that was beyond what an infant should have. A small covering of dark brown hair. Narrow eyes, high forehead, upturned nose. The girl was going to look exactly like her father… a shame really. Taisia would have preferred the girl to look like her. 

“I just.” Tas gives the little girl a kiss. “Hate it. I don’t want to raise another kid in this world. They’re going to hunt her down.”

“They’ll never find out.” Dee says calmly. She places one hand on her friends shoulder. “Can I hold her?”

“Of course.” Tas gives Nikita over to her friend. Then her little boy comes running over.  

“Hey big man!” Tas says, leaning down and ruffling his hair.  Dee is rocking Nikita in her arms, a bright smile on her face. 

“Mama, can you please help me with my homework?” He asks. 

Leo was so sweet. So polite. “Of course!” She says brightly. She casts a quick glance over her shoulder. Dee is still rocking Nika. “Can you?” 

Dee nods, “You’re not getting her back anytime soon.” She jokes softly. 

Tas honestly can’t believe how lucky she is to have someone like dee in her life. Dee had sacrificed everything to keep her, and her kids, safe. “Thank you.” 

She turns her attention back to Leo. “Alright, let’s get this homework knocked out! What class is it for” 

He starts to explain his math class, what homework he’s working on. Tas is only half listening. She’s already trying to figure out how she can keep her kids safe. How to raise them, be a good parent. How to teach them-- or at least teach Nikita-- how to hide their powers. How to give them a normal, happy life. The fear is starting to build up inside of her. She won’t always be around to keep her kids safe. She didn’t want to have kids. But dammit, if she didn’t love them more than anything in the world. 

* * *

**19 YEARS AGO**

Nika runs towards her, wobbling a bit on her legs. She was walking early on, much earlier than Leo. The girl was intelligent, strong, powerful. And she was only  _ one.  _ Tas can hardly hide her excitement at how powerful her daughter will be when she’s older. Leo was… more mellow. She wanted to teach him to fight, but her boy was more concerned with his school work and his friends. Which was fine. Great even. She still planned to teach him self defense basics. 

Nikita on the other hand… well she had already started playing with some of the kitchen knives. Tas wants to teach her how to fight. But seriously. The girl. Was  _ one _ . Not yet. It’s becoming a full time job to keep the young prodigy entertained though. She was already able to form short, two-word sentences. Like she was developing twice as fast as a normal child. Or she could just be a young genius. 

It was worrisome though-- when the weather followed the infant’s mood. When she cried, it would rain heavily. When she screamed, the lightning got bad. When she was super happy, it got windy out, clouds moving away from the sun. Tas is starting to really freak out. If storms kept appearing out of nowhere, it wouldn’t be long before someone tracked her down. She is not going to let her children get hurt.

At least Leo was able to go to school. Dee pretended like he was her kid. No one ever guessed. She was going to do the same for Nika, so that the girl could get an education. Tas honestly doesn’t know what she did to deserve a friend like Dee.

“Tas….” There’s a hesitant voice from the kitchen, interrupting her thoughts. 

She heads out there instantly, smiling at her kids as she walks by. Leo is playing with Nika… they’re playing with building blocks. 

“Bad news.” Dee’s voice drops to a whisper, an anxious glance at the kids. They had no idea who they were. “Look at this article.”

Tas grabs her friend’s phone, starts to scroll through.

_ One original left.  _ It starts. Tas takes a deep breath before reading the article.

_ 18 years ago, when the government created the 29 heroes, it was never expected that they would go astray. However, one of the heroes, an individual chosen and designed to protect our world, turned on everyone. Her name is Taisia Korev.  _

_ This hero, or original if you so please, was obsessed with revenge. She killed for fun, destroyed any of the superior enforcement officers who came to arrest her. She became so dangerous, that the other heroes had to be brought in for questioning. A horrible explosion killed 22 of the originals. The other originals, the ones who did not turn themselves in, were ordered to be arrested. To turn themselves in. Not a single one of them did.  _

_ Halley Payne, Tremon McNeil, and Elijah Mullens tried to fight back against the SE’s. They were all killed in the resulting struggle. _

_ Jin Xeiu, rumored to have one kid, was killed after attacking a citizen. 6 Years ago.   _

_ Baahir Sa’id, rumored to have two kids, was found dead 2 years ago. No one knows how he died. _

_ And just yesterday, Vanessa Satoni resisted arrest. Satoni is an original, a powerful telekinetic. It took many officers to subdue her. Unfortunately, the woman kept fighting back. She was killed in the struggle. Leaving behind a daughter who ran off.  _

_ Save the best for last does not apply in this situation. There is only one original left, and she is the worst of them. Taisia Korev is a murderer, rumored to have two kids, she is more powerful than one could possibly imagine. Currently responsible for the death of 17 superior enforcement officers. Along with countless others killed for revenge.  _

_ President Hart has made a promise. The kids, the six rumored kids, will not be harmed. None of their identities are known. None of their names are known. Until the psychic kids are found to be dangerous like their parents, no action will be taken against them. _

_ For now, we are looking for the last. The final survivor. The most dangerous, most powerful, of them all.  Taisia is around 5’6”. She is rumored to be in the Irkutsk Oblast region of Russia. A large region, but it is a starting place. The woman is in her mid 30’s. She has dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, a slim frame, high forehead, and round eyes. If you see someone matching this description-- DO. NOT. APPROACH. Call local law enforcement IMMEDIATELY. She is incredibly dangerous. _

Tas sets the phone down there. She doesn’t want to read more: about how to get hold of the SE’s, what to do if you’re attacked by an original… all that bullshit. 

Vanessa was dead. She was alone. Dee is looking at her, concerned. For a long moment, Taisia doesn’t even know what to say. She’s shocked. Shocked beyond belief that after so many years, 16 years, they were  _ still  _ hunting her down. Still trying to kill her. She has kids now. They’re growing up fast. Leo thinking about possible career paths, dreaming about what he wants to be. Nika getting into trouble left and right. Hiding from the law was a full-time job by itself. How was she supposed to be a good mother?

* * *

**17 YEARS AGO**

“You have to tell them.” Dee’s voice is calm. “Leo just turned ten. He’s asked me why he can never sleep through the night. He’s asked why he has to pretend that I’m his mom, not you. Nika is asking the same things.”

Tas sighs, leaning up against the wall. “I want to keep their innocence.” 

“Your daughter caused a flash flood the other week. If she knows who she is, what she’s capable of, she can learn to control it. They need to understand why they have to stay hidden. Innocence won’t mean a damn thing if they’re dead.”

Taisia closes her eyes for a long moment at that. It was all true of course. Leo was showing the smallest of signs that he inherited a small bit of her powers. The other day he had been playing with Nikita. They were spinning in a circle, having a good time, when the wind started to pick up  _ in _ the house. Swirling around them. 

And then Nika. She had discovered she could play with the weather. The “magic” she called it. She was so excited about what she could do. But had practically no control. Taisia remembered the excited voice “Mama I can make rain!” and then there was basically a monsoon started by the little toddler. Leo didn’t help. He always told Nikita how awesome the magic was. Thankfully the girl had yet to produce anything overly destructive, like a tornado. But it was only a matter of time. She experimented with her powers more and more each day. 

“I’ll talk to them today.” Taisia gives in. “Where is Nika now?” 

“Out back. She was playing with the knives again. I told her if she wanted to play with knives, she had to do that outside.” Dee responds.

Tas sighs at that. Nika was… scary almost. She was  _ exactly  _ like Taisia. And she was freaked out that Nika would reveal her secret quickly.  Soon she would be going off to school. She had to learn control by then. 

“I’m going to go pick up Leo from school.” Dee says softly. It’ll give you some time to think about what you want to say to them, okay?”

Tas nods in agreement, before heading outside. It may seem irresponsible to let a 3 year old play with knives outside by herself. But Nika acted older than 3, she acted like she was closer to 6 or 7. Too smart for her own good. Tas wonders if the girls inherited powers were also causing her to develop quicker. 

Sure enough, when the woman walks outside, Nika is throwing knives against the trees. She seems to hit almost every one that she’s aiming at. Tas watches her for a minute. The kid throws a knife. Grabs a second one and throws it too.  Then she skips joyfully to the tree, struggles to yank it out, and goes right back to throwing them around. She’s smiling excitedly. The girl bounces up and down on the balls of her feet every time a knife hits the target. Then she turns and sees Tas watching her.

“Mama!” She says excitedly. She drops the knives on the ground and comes running over. Tas smiles, bending down. “Do you see what I can do?” She asks excitedly. 

“You’re really good, aren’t you?” Tas says brightly.

The girl nods, before darting back over to her knives. “Watch me mama!” She throws them both, each hitting the trees she’s aiming for. 

“Wow!” Tas says, walking over to her. “You are amazing!”

Nika gives her a bright smile.  _ God, she’s so innocent _ . Taisia is torn. She hates that this sweet, adorable-- albeit not very good at listening-- young girl is burdened with something so terrible. Why couldn’t her daughter just be normal? But then again, nika probably wants to be unique, to stand out. 

“Hey Nika, can we talk?”

“Sure!” Nika says brightly. She abandons her knife game and walks over to her. Taisia sits down on a swing that they have outside. Nika jumps on the seat next to her, leaning into her. Taisia wraps one arm around her daughter’s shoulder, trying to figure out exactly where to start. Before she can get any words out though, Nika suddenly gasps.

“Mama! Do you think I can make it snow?” She’s looking up at the sky, curious.

It’s hard to keep the smile on her face. She’s worried that Nika’s innocence is about to be ruined forever. “Nika, do you know why you can make it rain?”

“Because I’m special!” She responds enthusiastically.

Tas lets out a soft laugh at that. “Yes you are. Very, very special. Very unique.” Nika is looking at her, interested. Taisia takes a deep breath before continuing. “Many years ago, there were heroes. They had super-special powers. All of the heroes are gone now. All except for me.”

“My mama’s a hero?” She asks, looking excited.

_ Pretty damn far from a hero.  _ But that’s not what the girl needs to hear. Nika doesn’t need to know that her mom is a murderer that became obsessed with revenge and power…. “Kind of….” She starts. “Well, yes. I am. We have powers Nika. Special powers. I can control the weather too.”

It’s like Nika was just handed the world’s biggest candy bar. Her eyes are practically glowing in excitement. “ _ You  _ can make it rain? Like me?”

“Yes.” Tas says softly. She gives Nika a gentle kiss on the head. 

Nika suddenly pulls away from Tas, bouncing on her feet again. She’s so energetic. “So I’m gonna be a hero too then? Just like you?”

The smile disappears from her face. Taisia hates telling her this. The girl is so happy to find out that she’s special. To find out that what she can do is real, not just her imagination. “No.”

Nika’s face falls. “But why?”

“Nika.” Taisia stands up slowly, walks over to her. “There are bad people out there. Bad people who would hurt you if they knew what kind of powers you had.”

Nika’s lip is trembling now, like she’s about to start crying. “But I like making it rain!” 

“Oh honey.” Tas bends down next to her, pulling the young girl into a hug. She didn’t understand. It hurts Taisia to see it. The girl should be allowed to be free, to be herself. But she will never be able to tell others who she really is. How special and unique she was. “You can still use your powers. Learn to control them, learn to fight with them, to defend yourself. I’ll teach you.”

The girl’s lips are still trembling. “But I can’t tell people?”

“You can never tell anyone.” Tas confirms. Her girl’s eyes are sparkling with tears now. “I don’t want people to hurt you. They will hurt you because they’re afraid of you.”

“Why would mean people hurt me? I didn’t do anything wrong!” She wails, starting to cry.

“Oh Nika, I know, it’s not fair.” Tas pulls her daughter into a hug, blinking back tears of her own. “You’re still special. Nothing can change that. The best way to keep you safe forever, so bad people can’t hurt you, is to keep this a secret. Do you understand?”

“Yes mama.” She sniffles into Tas’ shoulder. 

“Hey, Nika, how about this?” Tas tries to brighten up the mood. “Why don’t I show you how to control the rain a little better and we can practice? Would that be fun?” 

The girl wipes her eyes and gives Tas a small smile. Taisia nods, holding her daughter’s hand, and together they walk back to the center of the yard. “Okay, pay attention now. You’re going to be perfect at controlling the weather soon.” 

* * *

Leo is unusually quiet when he gets home. He says hi to Nika, who is playing with a puzzle. Then he gets out his homework and sits down at the table. Tas walks over and sits across from him. “Leo.” She starts hesitantly, “Can we talk before you do your homework?”

He blinks up at her, a curious look on his face. “We learned about it in school today.” Leo says softly. Like he knows exactly what Tas wants to talk about. “The heroes. You’re the last one aren’t you? That’s why you can’t take me to school. That’s why Nika has powers.”

He figured it out himself. Of course he did. 

“That means I’m not supposed to exist.” Her little boy continues. He’s looking down at his hands, like they’re going to dissolve in the air. “They said the kids are called nex-gens. And they’re dangerous. I’m not dangerous, am I?”

“Leo, honey, I know--”

He cuts her off instantly. “Is Nika dangerous? Are they gonna kill us if they find us? I don’t want my sister to get hurt.”

“Leo, stop.” Tas interrupts. She steps forward, places one hand on his shoulder. “Listen. You’re right. They  _ will  _ hurt you, and your sister if they find out. And--” She breaks off, swallows hard. This was too big of a burden to place on a ten year old. “Your sister has powers, like me. 

“I don’t.” He says, sounding almost relieved.

“Leo, promise me. You’ll keep your secret. Promise me you’ll take care of your sister, okay? No one can know, no one can  _ ever  _ know who you are. Do you understand?”

“I promise.” He says, eyes lighting up. His big brother instinct kicking in. 

“You’re not dangerous Leo.”  _ Your sister is though….  _ “And you can live a normal life. Be happy. And no one will ever know. Can you do that for me?”

He’s nodding before she’s even done talking. “I’ll take care of her mom. We’ll keep each other safe.”

“And I’ll be here for a long time to keep you both safe.” Taisia murmurs softly. She pulls her kid into a hug, trying to stop shaking. Fear for her kids future was starting to overwhelm her. She  _ wasn’t  _ going to always be around. The President was going to find her eventually. They were going to kill her soon. Taisia blinks rapidly to get rid of any tears, then pulls away and smiles.

“Hey, wanna go help Dee in the kitchen?” She offers, ruffling his hair. He smiles and nods, running off to help. Tas watches him go, before looking back towards Nika in the family room.  She didn’t want this. To put this big of a burden on two kids. They were supposed to be young, joyful, innocent.  _ But they weren’t supposed to exist _ . It was all her fault. 

  
  



	11. Chapter 10: Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note is that the italics are from when Ricky and Lukas were going through their Special Agent training. It's roughly 6/7 years prior to the start of the story.

Lukas comes around slowly, blinking in the light-- or lack of really.

He’s tied up in a dark room. It’s lit enough for him to make it out. He must be inside of the rogues’ headquarters. The room is mostly empty. His arms are pulled behind him, handcuffed together, around a post. All he can remember is the attack on the safehouse, giving himself up, being dragged out to the car…. A rag was shoved over his face. He went down instantly and then…. Then he woke up here. 

_ Take me instead. _

He said it so bravely. That was his damn weakness of course. Always, he  _ always _ had to be the one to take the fall. His self-sacrificing behavior was bound to get him into real trouble eventually. Seems everything caught up to him.

_ I’ll be much more useful to you. _

Of course that was true as well. Ricky wouldn’t break. Hell, right now, Ricky would be laughing in their captors faces: taunting them over yet another failure.

But Lukas isn’t like that. He’s logical, thinking through every possibility, scanning for the best moves to make. Breaking things down— strategic. And yet for some reason, he had instantly leapt to his feet, hands high in the air, and walked straight up to their enemies. Lukas isn’t stupid; he knew the consequences. But his normal, logical brain ignored all the other possibilities. Jumped over alternate plots to get out of a tight situation. And instead he was impulsive, speaking those three words that resulted in him being handcuffed to a post in the middle of an empty room.

_ Take me instead. _

Stupid, really. Especially since Lukas has no fuckin clue what they want. Nothing was making sense, the pieces weren’t connecting like they should. The one person who might be able to help was refusing to answer him: emails, texts, phone calls, hell written letters…. and nothing. One would think that after almost 15 years, she would forgive him. Apparently not.

There are keys clicking in the door, distracting Lukas from his thoughts. He quickly adjust his posture, sitting up, squaring his shoulders. It’s fake of course. Fake, just like the false bravado in his tone when he told them “Take me instead.”

Braxton strolls in, the leader of the group of rogues. He gives Lukas an interested look, head tilted to the side. He’s brisk and to the point at least. The man strides across the room, a couple of his lackey’s following him. He stops in front of the agent, bends down in front of him. 

Lukas cuts him off before he can say a word. Trying to bring up that bravery again, trying to do what his friend would do. Even if it backfires. “Braxton, surprised to see you–  _ alive.”  _ He smirks up at his captors. “Your boss isn’t a very forgiving person, is she?”

There’s a flash of annoyance in his captor’s eyes, but it’s gone quickly. He just gives Lukas a look, almost concerned. “But that’s why you’re here. I think you can help us out. Someone like you might just see the logic in this deal I’m about to offer you.”

Logic. _ Right _ . Logic is useless here. Lukas scoffs at that, rolling his eyes, not even wanting to hear whatever crazy idea this man is about to throw in front of him. “No deal.”

Braxton regards him for a long moment. He looks unconcerned, like he knows that he will win. Lukas sits up just a little taller. Mentally preparing himself. He has no idea what they’re planning on doing to him. Probably torture the shit out of him… 

_ What did they even want? _

“It’s nice to finally have you here, finally get to have a conversation with you.” Braxton says, with a calm air.

Lukas doesn’t feel like throwing jabs. “What the hell do you want Braxton?”

“We need your help.” Lukas looks at him, taken aback. Not quite sure how to respond to that. His enemy continues. “I know exactly how to get it.”

Lukas glances up to Braxton as he shifts a tiny bit closer. He’s furious that he’s in this situation, tied up. Stuff like this didn’t usually happen. Hell, it’s been years since he’s been caught in this kind of situation. The last time was--  _ damn _ the last time was his first case. 

“We know you Lucas.  We’ve seen the way you act.  How loyal you are… And I think I can make you an offer you won’t refuse.”  

“Or you can go to hell.” Lukas snarls back, jerking in his restraints. He wants to smack that smug look off of the rogues’ face. 

“I’m gonna offer it just one time.” Braxton still seems relatively unconcerned. Of course, Lukas has no power here. Why should braxton be worried?

“This will be good.” Lukas growls sarcastically, turning his head away. 

“I can guarantee their safety.  Ricky. Sadie. All you have to do is help us free Carla and Chang from prison.”

Lukas blinks, somewhat shocked at the proposal. For a brief second, the idea flickers through his mind. It wouldn’t be too hard. What, 30 rogues? Breaking two people out of prison. It wouldn’t be difficult to develop a strategy that would work. And if his best friends were kept safe, maybe it would be worth it.

Then he thinks about what those words may actually mean.  _ We.  _ The rogues wouldn’t attack his friends. Would keep them safe. But Carla, Chang… they would have no idea about this deal. Those two would instantly recognize that Ricky was a force to be reckoned with. They already knew what kind of person sadie was, who she was related to…. And the rumors. Carla and Chang were in prison because they wanted to overthrow the president, take over themselves. Sadie would be dead in a heartbeat.  

“They may be safe from you, but they won’t be safe from Carla.” Lukas says coldly, putting his thoughts into words. He repeats what he said earlier. “No deal.”

Braxton doesn’t press it. He just shrugs, the faintest hint of a smile forming on his face. “Whatever you say. More fun for me.” 

He strides out of the room, and Lukas leans back against the post. What kind of torture did they have planned? Were they going to cut him open? Burn him? Beat him with hammers and mallets? He had learned about the different torture techniques used throughout history in school. They had a lot of options…..

The door flies open again. It’s only been a few minutes since Braxton left, and now he’s back. He has two different followers with him this time. Both are large, muscular, looking like they stepped out of a strongest man competition. Oh good, that’s always a great sign.

Braxton nods at Lukas. “Get him up.”

Lukas doesn’t struggle. Really, there would be no point. He’s weakened. He can still feel the dried blood from the ragged wound on his forehead. Head wounds bleed a lot. He definitely wasn’t at strength, tied up, to injure himself by struggling. Instead, he opts to glare at the men as they uncuff him from the pole and yank him to his feet.  The handcuffs are reattached behind his back, and then one of them grabs him by the shoulders to hold him in place. The other rogue goes around to stand in front of Lukas, looking him up and down, as if trying to decide what to do to him first. 

“So, Lukas.  Any reconsideration on your part?”

Lukas is silent for  along moment. The men don’t seem to have any weapons on them. What’s the worst they can do? Beat him to a pulp? Lukas can  _ definitely  _ handle that. He’s seen (and unfortunately been involved in) his fair share of bar fights when Ricky was…. Well when Ricky was still struggling with his alcoholism. Lukas always stood up for him, even if Ricky threw the first punch. There it was again. His damn weakness.

“I would tell you to go to hell.” Lukas starts coldly, squaring his shoulders again. “But I think you came from there.”  

Braxton doesn’t even bother to acknowledge him. “Don’t rough him up too much boys.  We still need him.”

The man in front of Lukas gives a curt nod. “Understood boss.” 

Braxton disappears from the room again. The rogues must be trained very well to obey orders, because there’s no hesitation on their part. The first man slams a fist into Lukas’ face, followed instantly by a strong hit to the stomach that has him doubled over. He’s wheezing, trying to draw in air. But before he can catch his breath, there’s a heavy blow to his chin. The hands holding his shoulder in place vanish, and Lukas is knocked to the ground. He’s yanked to his feet again almost instantly.

The fist slams into his face again. Lukas gasps in pain as the force of the blow opens a large cut on his cheek. The jackass must be wearing a ring. Another hit: Lukas is on the ground again. There are a few kicks to his chest and Lukas can hear something crack. Ribs. And now breathing is even more difficult. Stabs of pain run through him with every gasping breath. 

This time they just pull him to his knees. Not even getting him standing. Another blow to his face. His head snaps to the side. More blows are following instantly. He’s losing count. One blow to his cheek, one to his jaw. He’s going to have a hell of a concussion after this. A punch to one of his aching ribs. A loud gap from the air being knocked out of him. The world’s starting to spin around him, and just before he falls, falls to the darkness creeping up, it stops. 

He’s handcuffed back to the post. Lukas can see red, blurry figures moving around. Something about the afternoon? But he’s exhausted. Lukas blinks a couple more times, trying to focus. Then he gives in. The last few hours have been so long… some rest would do him good.

He dreams of the day when he knew he could count on Ricky forever. Or maybe it’s a flashback. It’s like he’s reliving the entire memory. 

_ “Hey!” Lukas snaps as Aiden pushes Lukas behind him. There are three men coming into the room. Aiden ignores his protest, stepping in front of him even more. It’s infuriating. Lukas might still be in training, but he could fight. One of the men flashes a look over to him, before focusing on Aiden. _

_ The man takes another step forward, “Miss me?” The stranger asks, smirking over at Aiden. Lukas pulls out his own weapon from where he stands behind Aiden. He’s not sure what’s going on, who this man is, why he’s so interested in going after his mentor. Lukas clenches his sword tighter. Three on two. If only Ricky was here….. _

_ He can’t think about that now. Ricky was kicked out. He couldn’t get a handle on his alcoholism, got into too many fights. Lukas still felt guilty about that. He should have been there, helped his friend more, noticed the trouble he was getting himself into. But he did nothing. _

_ A sudden shock of fear runs through him. Ricky! He was sitting outside on the curb, waiting for the cab to take him home. What if these men had gotten to him? What if his friend was outside now, bleeding out on the sidewalk…… Lukas looks closely at their weapons, looking for any sign of blood. He can’t see any…. He’s praying with everything he has that Ricky escaped without injury. _

_ Aiden pulls out a sword in front of him as the men continue to advance. “I was planning on killing you, nice and slow.” The man sneers as he comes closer. _

_ Then his eyes flicker over to Lukas. “But now that I see you here with one of your little proteges, I think it’ll be more fun for you to watch him die.” _

_ Lukas curls his free fist at that. “It won’t be as easy as you think.” He growls slowly, making his way to stand next to Aiden.  _

_ No more words are spoken. The man and his followers jump into action. The lead man-- the one with the personal revenge plot against aiden-- comes straight for Lukas. Lukas sidesteps his first swing, grabs his arm with his free hand. Swings his sword and the man ducks. Lukas has to jump back out of the way, back on defense, at the next attack. Whoever this man is, he was fast. And Lukas isn’t fully trained. _

_ Aiden is fighting two on one, managing to hold them off. Lukas returns his attention back to his own rival. He can’t afford to be distracted. Switching to offense, Lukas leaps forward, feigning a swing, switching to his other side. It works and the flat of his blade hits the man in the gut. Lukas takes a swing at his head now, but it’s blocked. His opponent recovered quicker than expected. A stab forward, and the man grabs his sword. For a moment, Lukas is too shocked at the bold tactic to understand what’s going on. Then a fist is slammed into his face. He’s kicked in the chest, stumbling backwards. Lukas keeps a tight grip on his sword. _

_ The man moves forward again. The flat of his own blade slams into his back. Lukas goes down. He rolls onto his back, keeping his feet on the ground, trying to get up as soon as possible. But before he can even move, his sword arm is grabbed. His wrist pinned to the ground. The man is on top of him, knee shoved into his chest. And Lukas is practically helpless. Where was Aiden? _

_ Suddenly, a knife is raised above him. It’s stabbed down towards his heart. _

_ Adrenaline maybe? Fast reflexes? Lukas isn’t sure how he does it. The knife flashes toward shim, and he reaches up. Grabs the man’s wrist. The man seems unconcerned. His lip just curls into a sneer, and he leans his entire body weight onto Lukas. The knife is slowly moving towards him, despite Lukas’ attempts to keep it away. _

_ “Don’t.” Aiden gasps out behind him. Lukas can hardly hear him. His arm is trembling with the effort of keeping the knife from stabbing into him. But the man is strong-- stronger than him. His eyes widen as he can see the blade get closer and closer to his chest.  _

_ He gasps when the point hits his skin. And then it’s being pushed in. Slowly, painfully. Lukas is still trying, desperately, to get the knife away. But it’s digging into him, getting closer to his heart with each inch. Lukas is starting to panic. Hardly able to breath. It’s not even that painful at least…. _

_ Something crashes open, a knife is flying across the room, and suddenly-- the weight is off his chest. Lukas can breath again. The blade is still sticking out of his chest, but now, now it’s not moving towards his heart. He can see, just out of the corner of his eye, who the newcomer is.  _

_ It’s Ricky. _

_ Fighting. Three on one. Fighting like a demon, slashing and darting in and out of the fight with ease. He’s aware of Aiden leaning down next to him, muttering something. Aware of two of the men getting knocked down by Ricky. And then Ricky stabs the leader through the chest. _

_ His friend turns and runs over, placing one hand on his shoulder. “Just hang in there Luke, hang in there man.” _

_ “Keep breathing Lukas…” _

_ “Just relax…” _

_ “Lukas….” _

_ “Get him up” _

Wait. That wasn’t supposed to be there. Lukas’ eyes fly open, waking instantly from the memory. Braxton is standing there, that stupid expression on his face again. Part curious, part amused, part smug. What a dick.

“Awake now?” He teases. “It’s time for round two.”

* * *

Lukas gulps in as much air as he can as his head is yanked out of the water once more.  He coughs violently, trying to get the icy chill out of his lungs. And then the hand starts pushing his head back towards the tub.  

He goes under again.  Lukas tries to remind himself to stay calm.  But that is impossible to do when his lungs are desperately screaming for air.  He’s struggling now, but the men holding him are far too strong. His chest feels like it’s on fire.  Black spots start to swim in front of his eyes. The instinct to take in a breath grows stronger with every second, and the panic starts to set in.  They are going to drown him!

Right before he gives in and takes a breath, Lukas is pulled out of the tub, and roughly thrown to the ground, coughing out water. With the cracked ribs from his earlier beat down, he’s shaking as he attempts to get some air into his body. He’s laying there, gasping desperately. Getting as much oxygen in his body as possible. Another fit of coughing racks his body.  He shakes his head, water still streaming off of his hair and down his face. 

After a few moments, alternating between coughing and gasping, Lukas is recovered enough to push himself into a seated position.  He takes several deep, shaky breaths, too weak to stand. The part of his brain that isn’t focused on breathing reminds him of a simple fact that he should have known long before joining this career field.  _ Torture is fuckin awful.  _

And then Braxton comes over.  Man, Lukas is really starting to hate this guy.  He kneels in front of Lukas, for some reason he seems to really enjoy doing that. There’s an amused look on his face. The bastard is probably having a grand time.

“Have you thought about my offer?” He asks, the same question Lukas has been hearing all afternoon. Goddamn, Ricky needs to get his ass out here to save him. 

Lukas braces himself, knowing what is about to happen. “Idi K chertu, zalupa.” he answers, sneering back at him. Lukas  _ never  _ speaks Russian. He was born and raised speaking both languages, but unless he was ridiculously drunk, he didn’t speak Russian. There was no reason to. But it might be satisfying to watch his enemy get annoyed by a lack of understanding.

Braxton shrugs, still looking cool and collected. “I don’t speak Russian.  I’ll take that as a no.”

Braxton stands up, and motions for a couple of the other rogues to come and grab him.  

Lukas tries to hide his fear. How in the hell did they know about his fears? Did they research him-- in the same way that Lukas and Sadie had researched Braxton and the rogues? It would make sense. It’s also slightly terrifying. To realize that he thinks the same way as his enemy. He should be able to outsmart these guys. But instead, they’re more similar than they are different. 

He’s hauled to his feet.  He doesn’t struggle as they drag him back to the tub. He’s too focused on taking deep breaths of air, mentally preparing to be drowned. There is no avoiding this next round of torture, but at least he can plant some doubt in Braxton’s mind.  He knows exactly what kind of person Braxton is. Mostly because they’re, well, similar. Braxton had figured out that Sadie was a threat, ordered the hit on her. Braxton figured out that ricky was the muscles, and would be far more useful in helping get someone out of prison. Braxton changed his mind at Lukas’ offer, recognizing his weakness and exploiting it. 

But beneath all of that…. Braxton is just putting on the brave face. Pretending to be a hard ass.  In reality, like all of the rogues, he was just a stupid lackey. Blindly following Carla’s orders. If Lukas can just hold out, ricky would find him. Ricky never failed. And with Sadie backing him up, Lukas is confident that he’ll make it out of this place alive. And Carla will never get out of her little cell.

Braxton stands in front of him, as Lukas’ head is forced down to just an inch above the water.  

He takes a few deep breaths, trying to control the panic building up inside of him.

“Last chance before we start again.” Braxton tries, “Yes or no?”

“S”yesh’ menya.” Lucas hisses out.

“I told you, I don’t speak Russian.”

And then the water closes over his head once more.  

* * *

Lukas is going to have to add torture to the list of  _ things he never wants to experience again _ . It’s good to get in the experience just once, see how it is, but once is enough for him.

He’s tied up to the post again. After the fun breath holding session with the water, they decided to play a new game. 

Braxton is playing with a goddamn taser. Lukas will honestly take the taser over the tub though. The taser might be more painful but that tub was…. His worst fear. And the real threat of actual dying came with it. Suddenly the damn thing is shoved in his back again. Lukas can feel every muscle tense up, his mouth open wide in a screech of pain as the current burns through him. 

He gasps in air, trembling slightly when it’s removed from his skin. Braxton walks around to stand in front of him. “We’ve been going all day.  Do you really want to keep fighting this? It’s one. Small. Favor.”

Lukas looks up at him, panting. He’s not that good at sarcastic remarks, in fact he would prefer to stay silent and  _ not  _ taunt the people torturing him. But he’s hoping to push Braxton into giving up. After all, ricky would probably be arriving any minute. “Small?” He starts, raising his head up. “Releasing two high security prisoners is a small task?  I’d call you a tupitsa but you’re too stupid to know what that means.”

Braxton shoves the taser into his side, and Lucas yells in pain again.  _ God fuckin damnit that hurt.  _ “TY SUKIN SYN!” He snarls out, gasping once more when the taser is removed. 

“The Russian is really starting to piss me off.” Braxton snaps. The playfulness gone.

“Fuck off.” Lukas grumbles, already bracing himself for more pain.

“How much longer do you think you can keep this up?” Braxton says coldly, shoving the taser into Lukas’ shoulder.

Lukas tries to yell, but nothing is coming out. He can’t move, his body is rigid as a board. It seems to be held up against his skin for ever before it’s finally pulled away. Lukas falls limp in the restraints, his muscles relaxing and his body folding forward. His enemy grabs Lukas by the chin, forcing eye contact. 

“How about I go to that safehouse and drag that little girl into this? Maybe that will change your mind.”

Lukas spits in his face at that, not able to hide his rage. Sadie was innocent in all of this. 

Braxton steps back in disgust, wiping his cheek and glaring at Lukas with barely contained rage. “Let’s go back to the tub.  I think that’s more fun.”

_ Shit, no….  _ Lukas can’t hide the fear that flashes across his face at that statement. He doesn’t-- he can’t be drowned again. His heart is starting to race as he realizes that he has no choice. They’re going to shove his head underwater agin. Hold him there… they’re going to get him to break.

Braxton notices his fear, the smile creeping back across his face. “You’ll cave soon.” He says confidently, echoing Lukas’ own thoughts. 

A couple rogues untie Lukas from the post, and this time he fights back violently. Struggling with all of his might to get away. Every step gets him closer to that terrible tub that takes away his bodies most desperate desire. He fights harder. 

All of a sudden… darkness. 

“What the hell is this?” Braxton snaps.

Lukas can’t hide the smile that creeps across his face as the hands let him go and he’s dropped to the floor. He knows  _ exactly  _ what’s going on. “Oh you guys are so screwed now.” He laughs, as one of the rogues pulls out a phone, shines a flashlight in his face.

Braxton is completely livid. Then he points at some of the rogues, barking out orders. “You, go get those light back on.  _ Now.  _ And you two.” He turns back to the two standing over Lukas. Lukas can’t hide the triumphant smile that has crossed his face. His backup was here.

“Tie him back up, and don’t leave his side!  Zack, get over here. You guard that door. He is not escaping.” Braxton practically spits those last words out.

Lukas doesn’t struggle now as he’s dragged back to his favorite post. Arms bound behind him and handcuffed once more. He can’t hide his smirk.  “You guys really think you stand a chance against Ricky?” He jabs at them. 

One of the rogues instantly turns and punches him in the face. Lukas’ nose starts bleeding again, along with a cut on his cheek. But he just shakes his head, letting out a breathy chuckle. “You guys are so screwed.”     
  



	12. Chapter 11 Идти

Nika walks quickly to the gym later that evening. The sun is setting in the distance, golden rays deceivingly cheerful amidst the horror she has been feeling lately. She’s still freaked over what happened. She doesn’t want to end up like-- God she doesn’t want to end up in jail. Locked up, powerless, until they found an excuse to kill her. She has to find Edric as soon as possible. 

A car is pulling out of the parking lot as she walks down the sidewalk to the gym. She fumbles to get the keys out of her bag-- Joel and travis gave her an extra set since she trained so often-- and that’s when she notices the sign on the door. 

Closed until further notice.

_ What. The. Fuck? _

Nika can feel cold dread running down her spine. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. She grabs the door and gives an experimental tug.  It’s locked of course. And the lights are out. She quickly shoves the key in the door, unlocks it, and rushes inside.

“Joel? Travis?” She yells the moment she’s inside. It’s pitch black. Nika looks around, trying to quiet her racing heart. Then she walks quickly over to the lightswitch, flips it on. Her eyes scan across the room. Everything seems to be in place: well a couple swords are missing from the rack, but that’s it. Nika takes a couple cautious steps forward. 

And suddenly her breath stops. Right in front of her. At the far end, hidden by the raised floor of the gym. Someone is lying there on the ground, in a pool of blood. Her heart is starting to race in horror. Something is wrong, something is so terribly wrong…..

Another cautious step forward. A second, a third. And…  _ No.  _ She recognizes the body. 

Nika can’t hold back her gasp of shock. Caution thrown to the wind, she sprints forward, kneeling down next to one of her only friends in this world.

“Travis, Travis?” She grabs his shoulder, knowing it won’t do a thing. Knowing that he’s gone. But the muddled panic in her mind is telling her to cling to that last ditch hope, to try everything in her power to save him. “Travis, hey. It is me, Kira. Wake up. Travis?”

She shakes his shoulder again, rougher this time. He had to be awake…. He had to be okay… he had to…

The reality is setting in now. The initial shock fading to the heavy weight of the truth. She takes a shaky breath as she leans forward, gently placing her fingers on his neck. There’s no pulse. 

“Travis?” Her voice cracks.

There’s no answer of course. Nothing she can do. His body is cold… There’s no bringing him back.  _ Nothing she can do _ . 

Nika sits back on her heels, staring in shock. She can’t believe her eyes. Travis was… How did this happen? What did he do? After a few more moments of shaky breathing, blinking rapidly to avoid any tears, she places her hand softly on her friend’s forehead. 

_ Who would kill him _ ? Travis was such a nice person, protective and a bit bossy, sure. But he was an overall excellent guy. Everyone enjoyed him. And he was a former fricken officer of the law. No one in their right mind-- minus the people he locked up-- would want him dead. It takes a moment, a few minutes of steadying breaths, before she is able to close his eyes. 

“Travis….” Nika trails off. The pieces coming together before her eyes. Someone  _ knew _ , knew who she was. Knew how friendly she was with the Shields’. They probably hunted down Travis and Joel to question them. And Travis, being  _ Travis _ , probably told them to go straight to hell. “I’m so sorry.” Nika finally gets out. Realizing that it’s all her fault. He didn’t deserve this. Hell, he never even  _ knew  _ the truth about Nika, not even her name. He thought she was Kira, a pre-med student, with unmatched fighting skills,  _ normal _ . He had no clue about her psychic powers, her family’s history, her connection to the prisoner’s currently trying to escape….

Nika seems to sit there forever. She’s almost numb. Travis was gone. Dead because of a secret he didn’t even know about. And Joel… God, she doesn’t even know  _ where  _ he is. He’s not in the gym… was he killed too? Body dragged away, hidden? 

The pit in her stomach is overwhelming. It’s been a long time since she’s lost someone like this. The old feeling— the heavy despair, the crushing weight that her existence caused this to happen, both crash over her. Then comes the hate. The anger. The desire for revenge. She can see the sword wound now. A stab straight through his chest, piercing his heart. Nika takes a few more calming breaths. She can’t afford to cause a storm now. 

Travis’ death wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t the attacker acting in self defense. It was cold, calculated, intentional. Whoever did this  _ meant _ to kill her friend. They were coming after her, to draw her out into the open. A foolish idea, really. Nika can feel the rage build even more. They wouldn’t have to worry about finding her. She was going to hunt  _ them _ down.  

“Kira?” There’s a hesitant voice behind her. Nika turns around instantly, hand flying to her dagger.

It’s Oscar. He’s standing right inside the door, looking back and forth, from the body to Nika, and back again. He looks absolutely horrified. “What-- Oh my God. Kira, what’s going on? What happened?” 

Nika gets quickly to her feet. She’s not sure if she can trust Oscar.

“Kira?” He repeats, sounding slightly terrified. “What’s going on?”

“They killed him.” Her voice is raw as she stares down at the body. “And now Joel is missing.”

“Who?”

“Those fuckin ISA bastards. I know it was them.” Nika yells in fury, yanking a knife out and whipping it across the room. She can’t remember the last time she felt a hatred like this. She’s practically seeing red as she plots out her revenge in her head. “I’m gonna fuckin make them pay for--”

“Kira….” Oscar’s tone is soft, an attempt for him to be calming. It won’t work right now. All she can think about is her revenge. Killing that stupid piece of shit who would dare to kill someone like Travis, someone  _ innocent.  _ It wasn’t fair, none of it would ever be fair. 

Oscar must not have a fully functioning brain because suddenly he’s standing next to Nika. “Kira, I…. I am so sorry.”

Her hands are still clenched tightly at her side. She wants to throw more knives, maybe punch Oscar in his stupid face to get him to shut up.  _ Sorry  _ didn’t mean a goddamn thing. It wouldn’t bring Travis back, wouldn’t erase the fact that Edric knew who she was. She is already betting that Edric was the one to show up here and kill travis. It seemed right up that weasel’s alley of things he would do. 

“Did you hear about Joel?”

That snaps Nika out of her rage. “Where is he?” She says instantly, turning on her heel to face her ex. “Tell me. Now.”

“Kira, I--” He breaks off, takes a cautious step closer. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Tell me.” She snarls.

“He got arrested Kira. For, ummm, harboring…” He swallows hard, looks down at his feet. “You.”

The ground practically sways beneath her feet.  _ So this is her fault.  _ Her best friends were dying because she had powers. It takes a lot of effort to keep her face blank, emotionless. To not reveal who she is, to not panic over the idea that the ISA’s were trying to expose her. “But, I…” She stammers out, “I’m no one. I’m just college student. I am not special.” 

She says it breathless, stammering, pretending to be scared and confused. It’s all just a ruse of course. Oscar can’t figure out who she is… No one. No one can know. 

Her her world is starting to cave in around her. Nika’s closely guarded secret finally being shoved into the open. Nika knows pain, she knows terror… but nothing scares her as much as losing her freedom. Her freedom is more important than anything. And maybe, just maybe, one day she can truly be free. Be able to use her powers without casting a glance over her shoulder. Be able to be called by her real name…. Not some stupid alias. But it can’t happen this way.

“Kira.” Oscar’s voice is hesitant still. “They think you’re… one of…. Them. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Nika balls her hands into fists. She’s in control at least. Her powers won’t get out of hand anytime soon. But she can’t make up her mind-- what she’s feeling. Confused, angry, an overwhelming sadness, a hate growing stronger with every second. “Oscar.” It comes out as a hiss. “If I did have goddamn secret, you think I would tell you? We are through, or do you not remember?” It’s cold and condescending. She wants him, needs him, to leave. 

Her ex looks like he wants to comfort her. But he seems to be somewhat interested in self preservation because he backs off. “Kira just…. I’m so sorry. Call me if you need me. Please.” His voice cracks at that last word. Nika is surprised by that. Oscar sounds like he truly  _ does  _ care for her. Like he’s terrified over what may happen. They did date for the better half of three years. And there is a small part of Nika that misses his company. But she doesn’t want him back. She can’t have him back. He had come to close.

“I would not count on it.” She responds curtly, voice tightly under control. Oscar doesn’t press it. He just nods, and walks out of the gym. Nika is left there alone. Still staring down at the body of her friend. 

Suddenly it’s all too much. Nika marches over to the weapons rack, starts yanking down as many knives as she can. And then, just like when edric experimented on her, she starts throwing them. Lodging them in the wall. She can’t seem to stop. She needs to keep  _ moving.  _ Doing  _ something.  _ She wraps her hands up and heads over to a punching bag, when the knives stopped doing their job. When they didn’t seem to be getting her anger out like she needs them too.  

She slams her fists into the bag. Over and over again. Using all her strength to send the bag flying all over the place. A good kick. An uppercut.

She suddenly lets out a scream of frustration. One friend dead. The other in jail. What the hell kind of government would do this to their own retired officers? Who the fuck would just kill them out of the blue like this. 

Her vision is darkening in her rage. She imagines the bag as edric. As the man who opened the floodgates for all of this to happen. Her blows rain down even harder. And before she knows it, the knives are out, hacking at the punching bag. Sand spilling onto the floor. 

It’s the red that finally makes her stop, her breath harsh and ragged. Not the red darkening the edge of her vision: the red starting to form on her bruised and bloodied knuckles from the frenzied attack. Nika steps back. She’s soaked in sweat. A glance up at the clock… Nika has been going at it for almost an hour. How did time pass like that?

Nika is still catching her breath as she grabs a towel, wipes her face off. She needs to go see Joel, make sure he’s okay. They should let her talk to him. She’ll just have to be extra careful about it. One more quick glance over at Travis’ body… she swallows hard. The rage still there, but now it’s battling with her sadness. The ISA’s would be back tonight to clean up the body… he would get a good funeral. She isn’t exactly sure how it works. But typically the ISA’s and SE’s, being so important to the government, got specialized funerals. The tale of Travis Shield harboring a nex-gen would be just a whispered rumor, no merit to it. 

She takes one last look at Travis. Whispers one last goodbye. Then she walks out into the late afternoon sun. A quick glance up, and Nika causes the clouds to thicken. Not raining, but enough to cover the warm rays. It didn’t deserve to be a beautiful day. 

First Satoni, Chang, trying to escape. Then Oscar. Edric…. Now Travis is dead. Her secret, her peaceful life, is teetering right on the edge, almost ready to fall over, throw her life into complete chaos. All she wants is to be a surgeon. Have friends, enjoy her life. She’ll never be free.

* * *

Nika enters the prison, on edge, eyes flashing around. It’s hard to act normal, to blend in. She would be in here in a heartbeat if they found out… And every step closer is causing her heart to race faster.  _ Deep breath, deep breath.  _ She reminds herself.  _ No one knows. No one is looking for you. They’re not going to lock you up. _

She sits down, looks into the blank room. Waiting for the guard to go and grab Joel. A few people are giving her curious looks. Nika quickly pulls her jacket sleeves over her hands, hiding the knuckles. She went a little overboard with the punching bag. Or it could be her looks. The dark skin, dark brown hair, sharp features… Nika is model gorgeous. It’s only natural that she draws the gaze of everyone in the room. Her eyes flash across the room, a smirk forming on her face. She’s sending off a clear message-- That everything is fine. Nothing is wrong or out of sorts. Even though everything is as far from fine as possible.

She sits up a little straighter whens he sees Joel coming into the room. Thank god he doesn’t look hurt or beat up. But his face… It breaks Nika’s heart to see it. Joel and travis were together for over twenty-five years. His eyes are red from crying. Face puffy. He looks defeated, more so than he’s ever looked before. Nika can feel the hate building up in her once again. This may have been her fault, her secret’s fault, but it was the stupid goddamn President who decided to hunt down the nex-gens. Lock them up. And for the price, the amount she was worth to bring in? Even the best person would  kill to get their hands on her. It wasn’t fuckin fair. 

“What happened?” Nika demands, the instant Joel picks up the phone. Her eyes flash around and she leans in closer, lowering her voice. “Joel. I need to know.”

Joel follows her cautious approach. They both recognize the danger of the situation. “They— they accused me— us. They accused us of harboring a nex-gen... and you know Travis.” The man swallows hard, eyes clouded with pain. “He told them to beat it. There was a fight. He didn’t...They just... I thought he could win. But they... Kira they shoved a sword through his heart.”

Nika’s curls her fist at that. She’s going to kill them. They deserve it. It takes a while to control her anger. But she finally hisses out the question. “Who was it?”

“ISA’s.” Joel whispers. Voice barely audible as the reality of what’s happening sets in. “Edric. He was one of them. The other, I don’t know. Handsome? Arrested me after they—“

“After they fuckin killed Travis.” Nika finishes. It comes out as a snarl of hatred. 

The ISA’s were technically right of course. Joel and Travis had been, unknowingly, harboring one of the psychics. But they were innocent. Both of them. They didn’t do anything wrong. 

Nika hates this world. The government. That goddamn experiment. The fact that she, and five others, we’re in constant danger. Constantly having to hide who they were. Because if they were found out, they got locked up. If they were lucky. The world only knows of two, two of the six, because all of the psychics had learned to stay hidden. Nika shouldn’t have to walk around with an alias. She should be able to use her powers, enjoy them, experiment with them, without the threat of being arrested or killed for it. 

President Hart. Pretending like he cared oh so much. He doesn’t care though, Nika knows it. He cares about his own power, and keeping it. Or else he would let the psychic kids exist in the world. But she knows that Hart is scared of her power. Her power, Satoni’s power…. Chang’s power. The other three out there. He can’t control her, or the other psychics. If he can’t control them, then, in his eyes, they should be eliminated.

“Kira.” Joel’s voice interrupts her thoughts. There is a strange sense of urgency to it, shadowed by fear. “You  _ have  _ to be careful. They’re coming for you.”

“I am just--” Nika trails off, swallows hard. It’s hard to pretend to be normal. She’s unique. She’s powerful, she should be allowed to stand out. But no, not even Joel can know. “I swear, Joel, I am normal. I swear.” She let’s a desperate tone enter her voice for those last words. 

“I know. And I couldn’t care less. Even if you are a nex-gen, a psychic kid, I don’t care. You’re still my friend and nothing will ever change that. I don’t want to see anything happen to you.” Joel is speaking in a harsh whisper, almost desperate sounding.

Nika nods slowly at that, trying her best to look terrified. It’s not working though. She knows that her face is a mask of hate. She has a strong desire for revenge. Vengeance for herself, for Joel, for Travis…. Those stupid fuckin agents. Experimenting on her, killing Travis, locking up Joel? All from fear. Fear of what she was capable of. Well fine. If they were that afraid of her, she was going to give them something to truly be scared of. 

“Joel, I am getting you out of here.” Nika gets out. Pushing her revenge plans to the back of her mind. She leans forward, looking closely at her friend. “I’m getting you out. I swear.” 

But he’s already shaking his head. “Don’t Kira. Don’t try it. Please.”

“But, I….” She trails off. She  _ could  _ do it. Easily. She wouldn’t even need her powers. Just fighting her way in. No one could stop her or stand in her way. No one came close to matching her in combat….

Joel is still shaking his head. “It’s not worth it. You’re not ruining your life for an old man.”

A long pause after that. Nika wants to argue back. Insist that she can find a way to free him. Insist that he doesn’t deserve for his life to end because of her. But then she catches a glimpse of his eyes. The look in them. He’s lost everything. She realizes. The love of his life, killed in front of him. To Joel, a life in prison, was no punishment. Not compared to what already happened. “Okay.” It comes out rough, both sad and angry. “Okay. I will be safe. I will be careful. And I am not giving up on you, you understand?”

He takes a long look at her. “Now go Kira. Please. Get out of here. Don’t worry about me.” 

Nika nods, swallowing the lump in her throat. She doesn’t want to leave him. “Take care of yourself Joel.” 

Then Nika turns to walk away from the window. It doesn’t matter what Joel thinks, she’s not just going to walk away and forget about him locked up in here. She’s already forming a plan in her mind. Step one: Find edric. Step two: Kill the bastard. Step three: Get Joel out of prison. She can do this. It won’t take more than a day or two. After all, how hard can it be to track down an egotistical agent with blood on his hands? She’s about to leave, when there’s a shiver up her spine. 

Something is wrong.

Nika turns back around. The door is open, leading back to the interior of the prison. Joel is heading towards it. And Nika suddenly feels the need to rush in there. Something is so wrong. It’s like the entire place is holding its breath.

Another inmate walks in, probably ready to speak with some loved one. The man pauses in front of Joel. And it happens so fast that Nika is frozen for a moment. 

There’s a flash, a gleam of light on a blade. Then the knife is shoved in her friend’s chest. Guards come running forward, the knife yanked out. The inmate stepping back, watching, watching as Joel slumps to the ground, blood pouring out. There’s screaming, yelling….. More inmates trying to join in on the commotion as more guards come darting in on the scene. And then it hits. What just happened.

“NO!” Nika screeches. She jumps forward, running to the window, watching in horror. This was… this was…  _ No.  _ Intentional. “JOEL!” She cries, banging on the glass. He can’t hear her… He doesn’t know what she’s saying. She can’t get in there to stitch him up. She can’t save him from out here!

Her friend looks up at her, face a mask of pain. One hand clutching at his chest, attempting to staunch the rapid flow of blood. There’s no slowing it. The wound is too much. Nika could live through it, easily, but Joel isn’t like her. It’s deadly for normal people. There’s no surviving that wound. And somehow, some way, Joel manages to look up at her. Meet her gaze. Mouth something.  _ Go.  _ And then….

He’s limp. Eyes staring at nothing. The inmate who stabbed Joel is being dragged backwards. Hands held behind him. One guard is looking at her friend’s body. Nika is furious, horrified, numb in shock. She’s staring at the scene, not quite sure what to do. Not sure where to go. She needs to… she needs to….

A hand on her shoulder. Another guard telling her that she needs to  _ “Leave. Leave now.”  _ Nika practically smacks the hand off her shoulder, backs up quickly. Alarms are blaring now. People getting guided out. There’s nothing she can do. Nothing she can do except… what Joel said.  _ Go. She has to go. She has to go now.  _

Nika turns and sprints out of the prison. The world is blurred around her. Loss weighing heavily on her shoulders. She gets outside and keeps running, runs all the way to her car. Fumbles with her keys. Before pausing, turning to look back at the prison.  _ No, Joel. Not Joel too. No.  _

She can hear someone calling after her, probably wanting her as a witness. Nika can’t be a witness. She quickly hops in the car, starts it up. She needs to get out of here. As far away as possible. Is she… shaking? Her hands tremble slightly as she grabs the steering wheel, throws the car in reverse, peels out of her parking spot. The guards seem to be trying to get her attention still. But Nika doesn’t care. She will never talk with them. 

She throws the car in drive. Hits the accelerator and flies out of the parking lot. Her music is blasting, trying to drown out her thoughts. Her rage. Her horror. Joel and Travis. Gone, both gone. Because of her powers…. Because of Hart and his stupid “Nex-gens are dangerous and need to be locked up” rule. 

Well, at least Hart was right on one front. She is dangerous. She’s going to make sure that the ISA’s who attacked her, and are systematically destroying her life, are found. She’s going to hunt them down, find them, take them out. 

Everyone responsible is going to pay. 


	13. Chapter 12: Roadblock

“So tell me, once more, what happened?”

“That goddamn, piece of shit, self-sacrificing idiot--” Ricky starts off.

“I get it.” Sadie interrupts. “He’s an idiot, message understood. Now tell me what happened?”

Ricky sighs, trying to relax. Watching them drag Lukas away shook him up more than he expected. They’re sitting in the living room now, Sadie stitching up a wound on his shoulder. He’s calmer now than he was initially at least. But his eyes keep flickering to the door, wanting nothing more than to dart out there and find his friend. 

“You know they were after me? Not Lukas.” Sadie nods, and Ricky continues, keeping his voice tightly under control. “So they were in the basement, chasing after me and I got upstairs right when you got the lights back on. I ran into Lukas and that was when the rogues got upstairs.  One of them threw that grenade and there was a huge explosion. I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing you remember.”

Sadie is surprisingly calm about everything. It’s almost impressive. The woman was clearly not used to situations like this, but wasn’t batting an eye at any of it. “I remember Lukas pushing me aside.  That was him, right?”

“Yeah, and you got hit on the head, I got pinned down, and they came towards me.” Ricky swallows hard before continuing. The memories starting to panic him once more. “And then that stupid self-sacrificing  _ dumbass _ jumped in front of them and demanded they take him instead.  And they did.”

Sadie takes a deep breath at that, like she’s trying to figure things out. Ricky can’t exactly figure out what he’s feeling. He’s furious that Lukas, once again, is taking the fall for both of them. His friend was always the one to get hurt more, to jump in front of a bullet, take the hit. And now, it got him into serious trouble. 

“Let’s just think rationally for a minute.” 

_ Right. Think rationally. How the fuck do I do that when the man who’s practically my brother is busy getting tortured?  _

“These people have a reason for everything.  They’re not going to kill him right away.” Sadie states, matter-of-factly.

“They’re going to torture him Sadie.”  Ricky snaps out in response to that. His annoyance and fear starting to show as much as he attempts to hide it. 

“Then it’s simple. Let’s just call up Aiden--”

“No.” Ricky interrupts her instantly. He knows that they can’t go for backup. They just can’t. There’s something about this situation that is just so…. Off. Pieces still aren’t adding up, hell they haven’t added up since day one. And the attack on the safehouse didn’t make a drop of sense. He just feels like this is something he has to do alone. 

“I need to do this myself.  It’s my fault he got captured.  It’s up to me to get him out.” He mutters out, standing up and walking away from Sadie. He rolls his shoulder back. A little stiff and sore, but he can fight with it. He’s limping slightly on the leg that was buried under the rubble. But he should be okay to fight. 

“Don’t be so stubborn.” Sadie stands up slowly, mimicking his actions. Or maybe she’s just moving slow because of her probable concussion. “You need help.”

“I have help. You.” 

Sadie ignores that, continuing to press the issue. “Why don’t we get backup?  It makes so much more sense that way.”

Ricky turns around sharply, eyes flashing in anger. “No it doesn’t. You don’t get out Sadie.” He practically snarls out. He starts to pace, the limping fading with each step. He’ll get used to moving on the bruised and battered leg in no time. “Listen. If Aiden helps, they’ll just kill him.  They want me, remember?

“So what, they want you.” Ricky forgot how stubborn Sadie could be. She may just be a diplomat who lives a fairly sheltered life, but she did know quite a bit. She was very smart, more strategic than he would have expected. It might actually make sense for Ricky to work with her on this, rather than butting heads. So he nods slowly, letting her know to continue. 

“They want you to come alone, so you’re just going to play right into their hands?”

Ricky shrugs at that. Well…. Kind of.  “Not exactly. I have you helping me out.  They still underestimate what you’re capable of.”

Sadie rolls her eyes, a disbelieving smile on her face. She lets out a harsh laugh at that, no humor on her face. “No. You’re not going into a building of 30 rogues by yourself.” 

Ricky glares at her for a moment longer. Then he just shrugs and starts to walk away to a weapons stand. He takes a sword for himself. “Fine.” He snaps over his shoulder. Ricky grabs a couple knives to put on his belt for backup. And a second sword for Lukas, in case his friend is in fighting shape after getting rescued. “Then you don’t have to help.  I’m going.”

“Wait.”

Ricky pauses at the door, then slowly turns around, eyebrows raised. She darts into her computer room. There’s scuffling and things moving around. A moment later, the woman comes strolling back out with a briefcase. “Just had to grab the comms. I’m coming with you.”  

Ricky nods, not quite sure what to say. How grateful he is for her help. He doesn’t know how to explain what Lukas is to him. A family he never had. A best friend, a brother… He’s not sure what he would do without Lukas around. He doesn’t really have anyone else. 

He holds the door open and Sadie strolls past him, confident. “I think I have a plan.” She states curtly. 

Ricky follows her, trying to remain calm as the panic builds up once more. Lukas was going to be okay… He had to be. 

* * *

Ricky taps the earpiece, adjusting it ever so slightly. Sadie is sitting in the car, waiting to rush them to safety, once he got Lukas out of the hold. She also has computer systems up and running, monitoring the rogues movements through the building and directing Ricky on where to go. And, in a stroke of genius, Sadie used their own trick against them. She turned off the power.

They had spent time looking at the schematics before Ricky had headed in. A view of the hold, using the heat signatures, and they could see where everyone was at. There were mostly groups of two or three, and the occasional single individual moving around. But, near the center of the complex, there was a cluster of five people. Lukas was probably in that group, being guarded. 

Ricky pulls the night vision goggles on: Sadie gave him two pairs. He’s not moving as quick as he usually does, what with two weapons instead of his normal one. He has his own sword drawn, holding it by his side, ready for use. Even with the night vision goggles, he’s moving slowly through the building. 

“Left right here.” Sadie’s hushed voice comes through.

Ricky mutters a soft “Copy that.” And follows her instructions. 

Another hallway. She tells him to quickly duck against the wall, to avoid an oncoming group. They must have spread out, understanding that this was a rescue mission. Ricky is surprisingly calm, heartbeat steady, as they walk by. Flashlights scanning around. The rogues walk straight past him, not even noticing. After a few moments, Ricky continues his path. He’s getting closer, he can feel it.

He slowly makes his way slowly down the hall, scanning left and right to make sure that he is still in the clear.  “Where to now?” He whispers.

“A couple hundred feet and- Ricky, get back!” Her voice suddenly rises in intensity.

It’s too late. Ricky turns around just in time to see two rogues walking towards him.  One of them has just shined their flashlight on him.

“HEY!” The rogue yells.

Ricky turns and runs, skidding around the corner, the men giving chase behind him.  He turns another corner and ducks down into a room. The two rogues come hurtling after him, but they’ve lost him.  

A voice comes around the corner, “Where’d he go?”

“I don’t know. Better call this in.”

“Like hell.” Ricky hisses. He pulls out one of his knives, setting the sword slowly on the ground. He won’t kill unless it’s absolutely necessary. Then he jumps out in the open, slamming the handle of the knife against the first rogues forehead. He’s out instantly from the force of the blow. Ricky turns quickly as the other man comes towards him. He quickly grabs his hand, twists his arm around behind his head. Ricky’s free arm comes around, wrapping the rogue in a  chokehold. He pulls the rogue to the ground, still putting pressure on his throat. The man is struggling desperately, trying to get to his phone. He isn’t able to get to it though, and finally his eyes roll back and he passes out. Ricky pushes him to the side, getting back to his feet.

“Little late with the warning there.” He grumbles into the comm. 

“Sorry, you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He walks back into the room to retrieve his sword. He’ll probably need it for later. “Where to next?” 

It takes a long time, too long it seems, before he gets to the room where-- he thinks-- Lukas is being held. Sure enough, there are three guards waiting outside the door. Probably making sure that their charge doesn’t get away. They really don’t stand much of a chance though.

Ricky is silent enough, quick enough, to knock all three of them out in a heartbeat. His pulse is starting to race a little bit. He’s terrified over what shape his friend will be in. There’s a lot they could have done during the day… What if Lukas can’t even walk? 

Ricky takes a deep breath, mentally preparing. He unlocks the door cautiously, sneaks in.

“Lukas?” He whispers, not wanting to speak too loudly. He scans around the room. Someone is tied up to a post. “Hey, Luke.” 

He pulls out a small flashlight that was shoved into his jacket pocket, flicks it on. Sure enough, Lukas is sitting, propped up against the pole, hands tied around it. He seems to be out cold.

“Lukas.” Ricky hisses out, a little louder this time.

Suddenly, his friend’s eyes fly open. There’s silence for a moment, Lukas looking at him in disbelief. Then he smiles.

Goddamn, he looks like shit. Not nearly as bad as what Ricky was expecting though-- Thank God. It looks like he was just in a massive fistfight, and lost by a mile. Both of his eyes are blackened, multiple cuts and bruises all over his face. His lip split open. Probably has a few cracked ribs too, judging by the way he’s breathing. His hair is slightly curled like it does when it gets wet…. But there’s no knife wounds. No whip marks. No obvious broken bones. 

“Hey man.” His friend fuckin smiles at him.

Ricky can finally breathe a sigh of relief. He walks over to him, starts to untie the rope. Not quite sure what to say. He’s surprisingly not shaking. Ricky thought he would be too freaked to be of much help. Thge last time something like this happened, they were together. And no one got hurt. They were such an excellent team that they never got in trouble like this. Ricky is finally realizing just how much danger this entire mission is becoming.

He pulls Lukas to his feet. Grips his shoulders for a minute. Looks Lukas up and down to make sure that there are no other obvious injuries. Then he pulls his friend into a quick hug, clapping his shoulder. 

When they break apart, Lukas gives him a searching look, raising his eyebrows. “About damn time you got here.  Hit traffic?”

Ricky laughs at that. They couldn’t have done too much to his friend if he was acting like this. “Jesus man, what the hell did they do to you?”

Lukas shrugs, trying to avoid the question. “Hey you don’t look so great yourself.  Very baggy eyes. Your nose is still bruised too.” 

“Really.” Ricky says, dead serious. He has to make sure before they get moving again. “Are you okay?”

“Are you?”

“Don’t just…” Ricky glares at his friend. “Shut up and drop the sarcasm. Seriously. Can you walk?”

Lukas sighs, looks down at the ground for a second. His eyes flicker towards the door, annoyance written all over his face. “I hate asking this, but I might need a little help.”

Ricky can feel rage building up inside him at that. “What did they do to you?”

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just get the hell out of here. Got an extra weapon?”

“Yeah, but you’re not carrying it. Here--” Ricky breaks off, grabs Lukas’ arm and slings it over his shoulder. He’s supporting half of his friend’s weight now. Good. His sword arm is still free and they should be able to move at a rapid pace through the building. 

“Is Sadie…” Lukas trails off. Of course. Lukas saw Sadie lying unconscious on the ground. He still doesn’t know what happened to her.

“She’s fine. On the comms actually.” Ricky taps his earpiece. “She’ll help us get out. Just worry about yourself right now.”

Lukas rolls his eyes at that. “When do I ever worry about myself?” 

Ricky chooses to ignore that. He just scans his flashlight around the room, and then talks into the comms. “Hey Sades, can you get us out of here?”

“With pleasure.” Sadie’s voice comes through, loud and clear. “Go exactly where I say, and you shouldn’t encounter any resistance.”  

The two start to make their way out of high point, moving slow and cautious, with RICKY holding his weapon up at all times. 

Sadie’s instructions get them safely back to the main hallway. Ricky pushes open the door, still supporting his friend, eyes locked on the door that leads outside. As he steps into the hallway, Lukas stumbles bad, and Ricky has to adjust quickly to support him.  Lukas seems to be struggling to catch his breath, so Ricky gently lowers his friends to the ground. Lukas leans up against the wall for a moment. 

“You can rest if you need to.” Ricky tries to reassure him. Lukas is trying to appear all tough and strong. There’s really no shame to it. After being tortured all day long, a small sign of weakness, like needing a freakin break, didn’t matter one bit. Lukas is probably mentally kicking himself over it though. 

“Just… one minute?” Lukas sighs, leans his head back against the wall. “Sorry man.”

“Shut up, you’re fine.” Ricky slides down next to him, keeping a watchful around them. Lukas has his eyes closed and he’s focusing on taking slow, steady breaths. 

“Hey Sades?” He starts, speaking into the comms. He continues to sit next to his friend, letting him relax for a bit. “We’ll be outside in just a moment.”

“Copy that. Car’s on. Ready to pull out when I see you.” 

Ricky waits a couple more tense minutes. He doesn’t want to rush Lukas, but sitting down in the middle of the rogues hold was getting more and more dangerous as time went by. Finally, as much as he tries, he can’t help himself. “You ready?” He asks, getting to his feet and offering a hand to Lukas.

Lukas nods, grabbing his hand.  “I’m good, I’m good.” Ricky offers to let his friend lean on him, but Lukas just shakes his head and starts to walk forward determinedly. Ricky follows, keeping a close eye behind them. So far, there’s no one pursuing them. That’s worrying. The rogues have definitely noticed by now that their captive is gone.

He pulls the door open, glancing up at the sky. It’s a clear night. The moon is shining bright, lighting up the street. “Come on.” He mutters, glancing over to Lukas, who has stopped again to catch his breath. “We’re almost there. She has the van parked---”

He cuts off suddenly as three rogues appear in the path in front of them.  They all have weapons drawn. Damn it. They were so close…. 

The lead rogue steps forward, looking furious. “You little shits.” He sneers out. It’s Braxton: the seeming leader of the group. “Think you can escape from me?”

Lukas mutters something out in Russian, judging by the tone, he’s cussing him out. Ricky stands next to his friend, handing him the extra sword strapped to his back. “So, think you can fight?”

“I’m fine Rick.” Lukas growls, looking at Braxton with undisguised hate. Braxton must have been the mastermind behind tormenting his friend.  

All of the rogues draw their weapons at once and charge forward, not missing a beat. Ricky leaps forward to intercept two of them: Lukas won’t be able to handle two on one. A quick glance, his friend is a bit shaky on his feet, but he blocks the first strike. Then Ricky has to focus on his own battle.

Ricky ducks and twists quickly, neither of the rogues able to get any hits in on him. He’s fighting in a rage, seeing red, as he imagines what they did to his friend. He won’t kill them for it, but he damn sure won’t lose. He elbows Braxton back, out of the way, then gets a good strike ont he other man’s wrists. The force knocks the sword out of his hands, and Ricky kicks him under the chin. He sprawls on the ground, dazed, trying to catch his breath. 

Ricky twirls his sword and turns back to braxton, who is comign to rejoin the fight. Another quick glance towards Lukas. His friend and the rogue have both been disarmed, how that happened he has no idea. But Lukas moves quickly, grabbing the man in a chokehold. Lukas pulls im to the ground, similar to what Ricky did earlier. A flash of light catches his attention again.

Ricky ducks under the sword coming towards him. His adrenaline is pumping: never a good thing in a fight. But the high stakes seem to be overcoming his training. Adrenaline keeps him alive-- but it also will tire him out quicker. And Braxton, unfortunately, is fairly skilled with a blade.

They’re both on the offensive, trying to get hits in. When suddenly, there’s a loud sound. Tires screeching around the corner. Then, a blinding light.

It’s Sadie. 

Ricky stops instantly, pushes Braxton away. Braxton has thrown his hands up, covering his eyes from the blinding light. But Ricky doesn’t care about that. He just rushes over, slings Lukas’ arm over his shoulders again, and they dart for the van together. They both jump in, Sadie slamming the gas pedal as soon as the door is shut.

Lukas slumps in the backseat, the adrenaline gone instantly.  Ricky nods in thanks to Sadie, then focuses on his friend. “They did a number on you.” He mutters, noticing how exhausted Lukas looks. Physically, it’s almost looks like he got into a bar fight. Nothing major. But the agent is clearly drained… Definitely in need of a lot of rest. 

“Not really.” Lukas grumbles, pushing himself up to a sitting position. He sighs heavily, leans his head against the seat and rolling his eyes up to the ceiling. “They just kicked the crap out of me.  Busted my face up. We did some breath holding competitions where I was the only competitor. Oh tasers those were fun too.” 

Ricky looks at him, raising his eyebrows. No wonder he’s exhausted….

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” It comes out snappy and harsh. Ricky doesn’t retaliate: his friend is clearly annoyed over the whole situation, and frustrated for feeling weak.

“Well…” Ricky gives his friend a coy smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “If you would look in the mirror.”

“I bet I’m still better looking than you.” 

“That’s impossible.” Ricky jokes back. “I’ve always been the handsome one in this relationship.”

Sadie’s voice comes from the front seat, interrupting Lukas before he can say whatever annoyingly witty comeback he probably had. “You guys are sending off some strong gay vibes back there.”

“It’s platonic.” Ricky says, exasperated, at the exact same time as Lukas. Okay, so the speaking in unison thing probably didn’t help to prove their point. Sadie just laughs, returning her focus to the road. 

It’s silent for a long time before Lukas speaks up again. “I feel like I’m always the one thanking you, for saving my life.”

“Yeah, it’s because you have that stupid self-sacrifice attitude.” Ricky snaps out, furious, annoyed, and relieved all at once. “You’re gonna send me into an early grave with that.”

Lukas snorts, sharing his exasperation. “I’m going to send myself into an early grave with that.”

Then they’re quite again, not quite sure what to say. Sadie turns down a dirt road: they’re almost back to the safehouse.

Lukas is, once again, the one to break the silence. The scariest thing is how defeated his friend sounds. “What are we gonna do Rick?”

Ricky swallows hard: he doesn’t have an answer. “I don’t know.” Lukas is still staring off into the distance, frowning as he tries to connect the invisible dots of their impossible case. Ricky tries his best to reassure him. “Hey, what I do know is that we don’t give up. We’ll figure something out. We’re the greatest team in the world, remember?”

Lukas doesn’t respond to that. He just closes his eyes, and is, thankfully, asleep in a few minutes. Good. His friend needs to rest. 

Sadie pulls down the long driveway to the house. He glances out the window, looking at the now-familiar house. It looks too peaceful, considering the recent events. 

He lets out a breathy whisper, not quite loud enough for anyone else to hear. “I don’t even know where we go from here.” 

 


	14. Chapter 13: наследие

News reporters are all a bunch of liars.

They cover the story of Travis and Joel Shields. Travis Shields, found dead inside his gym. Presumably killed by his husband, Joel, who was arrested. Joel, while in prison, was fatally stabbed and killed by a fellow inmate.

They got _one_ piece of the story right. The stupid prison guards should have known. Throwing a former law enforcement officer into a prison with a bunch of criminals? Of course the other inmates would hate him, want to see him dead. But they weren’t careful enough, _didn’t care,_ and Joel was dead because of it.

Joel would never kill Travis. It’s infuriating to watch. To hear fake interviews with other SE’s and  a handful of ISA’s. Hear them talking about the “marriage” problems between the Shields couple. It’s all a well-designed cover-up. Nika knows exactly what happened. Edric figured out her secret. He was working with his ISA partner-- they always work with a partner-- and they found her. Tried to arrest her, prove her existence. And when Edric failed in his experiment…. He went after the people she was close to.

Nika wishes she could get her hands on the video surveillance cameras. But they were probably confiscated, evidence destroyed. No one ever wanted to believe that ISA’s could be the bad guys. After all, they were supposed to protect everyone. Be the good guys. Not go around killing good men in their stupid quest to capture all the nex-gens.

She can’t watch this anymore. Nika grabs her bag, tosses a wad of cash onto the bar, and storms out. Despite all of her searching, she hasn’t been able to find the one responsible for turning her life upside down. Edric is hiding well, probably aware that she’s looking for him. He saw a good demonstration of her power: even if he didn’t quite realize that she was the one who created the storm that night. The agent has probably pieced it together by now. The night she got drugged was supposed to be a clear night, with zero percent chance of rain.

Nika walks across campus, towards her apartment. She’s  furious that she’s no closer to finding Edric. She yanks the door open, letting it slam shut behind her. Then she starts running up the five flights of stairs to her apartment. Time is passing strangely. It’s been three days since she watched Joel die in prison….

She stops suddenly, yet again. It keeps happening. She closes her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath. Nika can still see that image in her mind… The knife, Joel’s eyes getting wide, falling to the ground…. All that blood….

Another deep breath. Nika continues up the stairs. Moving slowly, quietly. She needs to just, find Edric. Get rid of him, and make him _pay._ Nika goes to pull her keys out, and then freezes at the voice.

“Whatever, she’ll be home soon.”

There’s a laugh. “I can’t believe she still thinks that we care for her.”

Taylor’s voice. “Well at least we don’t have to deal _vith her and her vee little accent_. She’s moving out soon.”

Nika freezes at that. Taylor was making fun of her? Excited for her to leave?

“She stands out like a sore thumb around here. Angry bitch, no wonder Oscar dumped her.” Nika recognizes that voice, it’s Heather.

Taylor’s voice again, filled with contempt. “Please Heather, at least you didn’t have to live with her. She has a weird obsession with knives. And is super neurotic about things. Always training at the gym. I have to deal with that all the time.”

“Well, like you said. We’ll be rid of her soon.”

Nika clenches her fists. She’s not quite sure what she’s feeling. Angry, yeah. But it also hurts in a way…. Hurts to know that people who she thought liked her company clearly hated her. But she can’t worry about that, dwell on how she’s feeling. Nika has more important things to worry about. So she grabs the door handle, throws it open quickly. Nika has no need to keep listening, she’s heard enough. “Having fun?” She spits as she walks into the room.

Both Taylor and Heather turn to look at her, eyes wide in shock. “Nika!” Taylor says, pale-faced. “We didn’t...um, hear… you.”

“No need to explain.” Nika snarls, shouldering past them to head to her room. There’s a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Great. Fuckin great. She finally thought she had true friends. And like always, they didn’t give a shit about her. Nika _knows_ that she’s an outcast. She’s always been. Growing up, a black girl in Russia, she always stood out among her classmates. Then coming to America, her love of fighting and knives, blending in with the boys, hardly making true friends…. But she thought…. Well honestly. She thought Taylor would prove to be a true friend. Not someone who just wanted her gone.

Heather gives her a cold look, before also turning and leaving the apartment, not wanting to be caught in some roommate squabble. Taylor sighs behind her, tries to follow.

Nika just slams the door shut in her face. Fuck this. It wasn’t fair. She’s never going to be accepted…. No matter what she does. An afro-Russian, with psychic powers, and some deep-seeded trauma… Anger issues, a murder problem… Nika wants to destroy something. A good thing her room has a patio attached to it.

She unlocks the outside door, strolls onto the patio. Her eyes flash up to the sky, her rage growing with every passing second. Then, she doesn’t wait any longer. Her hand thrusts up to the sky, clouds forming instantly. She doesn’t even care if it will bring ISA’s to her. She needs this release. The clouds thicken and darken at her will.

The sky gets darker with every passing second, the rain starting to spatter on the ground. Nika raises her other hand, letting the wind pick up even more. It’s lashing around, shaking the windows. The drops get heavier, falling quicker. And now for the lightning….

Thunder. Thunder so loud that it’s deafening. The lightning flashes around her, not in control… not yet. And then Nika closes her eyes feeling the static in the air. Gaining control. This is her storm. Her creation. And then she lashes out. Lightning strike after lightning strike. Hitting the ground exactly where she wants every single time. She doesn’t even need to use her hands as much… her rage giving her focus.

Nika loses track of time as she controls the elements, intensifying the storm even farther. She can’t help herself… and after a long time, she’s more relaxed, able to breathe easier. There are so few people in the world who know about her powers. Four exactly. Satoni. Chang. Leo. And now Edric…..

Her secret is only safe with one of them. No wonder she doesn’t fit in. Six people with powers, two want her dead, one is cut out of her life. She’s never going to have a normal life… to have friends…..

The storm starts to ease off a bit, Nika getting numb as the rage fades into the background. She needs to just, calm down. A deep breath, focusing hard. The rain stops completely now. The clouds are still gathered heavy above, and the wind is still going. And now…. Now she’s in control. And she can go after the person responsible for all of these horrors.

* * *

She spends the rest of the day researching, trying to find out exactly where Edric went. And that’s when it comes to her. It’s so _obvious._ He’s searching for her. He should make herself easier to find.

Nika arms herself quickly, finally realizing that she knows what to do: where to go. She puts her favorite twin daggers on her belt. Two longer ones cross her back.  She has a holster on her thigh, with five throwing knives in it. Then she tucks some additional weapons into her jacket. A quick drink from her water bottle, making sure she won’t be too tired to show off her powers some. If Edric believed her to be a nex-gen, she may as well put on a show for him. Prove him right before taking him out.

She walks across campus, heading towards the gym. And sure enough, there’s his car. Nika recognizes it. He’s not in his car, nowhere to be seen. Nika dares to creep up to the gym, peak in. He’s inside. Walking around, writing stuff done. The building is condemned now, and Edric is probably getting the items out of there so the gym can be reused for other purposes.

Edric picks up a sword, weighs it in his hand, tosses it to the side. He continues to sort through weapons. She wants to barge in there, but that’s not the best way to do things. Nika wants a proper revenge. He needs to know exactly what kind of a scumbug he really is. It takes a lot of effort to turn away, wait for him to come back out. She can’t wait to confront him.

And finally-- finally, he heads to the door. She quickly backs away, standing against the wall and watching Edric leave the gym.  He looks satisfied. She can feel the strong hate running through her. He had killed her friend. Gotten her other friend thrown in jail to be killed by his enemies. And that jackass was _happy_ about it. Oh, she can’t wait to drive a knife through his heart.  The psychic leans up against the building, casual, one leg propped on the wall.  She pulls out one of her fighting knives and inspects it in her hand. Wanting to intimidate Edric before she kills him.

“You were right, you know.” Nika calls out to the agent.

The man turns around instantly.  Nika continues playing with her weapon.  Her eyes slowly flash up to Edric, keeping her face unreadable.  

Edric takes a few steps forward, his hand on his sword.  He’s ready for a fight. Good.

“Right about what?”

Nika stands up from the wall. She’s still playing with the knife. She looks down at the blade as she steps forward, her eyes occasionally flickering up at the agent. She answers his question, “Who I am.” Nika starts, walking slowly, purposefully, “What I can do.” She stops, a few feet away from him. Maybe he’s stupid enough to approach her.

Edric doesn’t seem too disturbed by her behavior. He’s more interested in getting as much information as possible. Like he has any chance of surviving this encounter. “So you are one of them.  A nex-gen. Not even human.”

Not even human. Her hatred grows. She was human. She was unique. She was powerful. But she doesn’t deserve to be experimented on like an animal. “Oh I am so much more than that.” She sneers out, the playfulness gone.

Edric is still staring her down.  “Your kind doesn’t have a place in this world.”

Nika is furious. Her powers shouldn’t give her less of a right to exist. Sure, she wasn’t supposed to be born. But she’s here now. Why can’t people just fuckin accept that? Instead of hunting her down, trying to take her out? “You know what is interesting?  I could kill you. Right here. I would nt have to move muscle. But where is fun in that?” She says softly. Edric won’t pick up on the warning. ISA’s think they’re so talented. So special. Nothing compared to her.

Edric’s lip curls into a sneer, “I’m guessing your real name isn’t Kira Smith either.”

Nika gives him a sly smile, “It’s not.  I would tell you what it is, but you won’t be alive long enough to know.”

The man takes another step towards her, a dark look crossing his face, “Is that a threat?”

Nika fixes him with an icy glare.  Edric pulls his sword out. She was going to enjoy this.  

She pulls out her other dagger— she fought best with twin blades.  She takes a step forward towards the agent as well. The fool. He should be running scared.  “Threat?” she lets out a short laugh, before the smile disappears from her face. Her gaze hardens. “It is promise.”

He leaps forward, not even worried about who she is, what she’s capable of. Nika drops back, playing defense. He’s attacking viciously, broad strokes, quick jabs. The psychic dodges around most of them, not even bothering to block the strikes with her own weapons. She doesn’t need to. It’s almost too easy.

Another step backwards, enjoying the gleam of annoyance in Edric’s eyes. “You know…” She says slowly, ducking smoothly under a strike. “Here I was, thinking ISA’s were supposed to be talented.”

He curls his lip in rage, going on the attack once more. Nika will let him try a few more times. He has no chance in this fight. She crosses her arms behind her back, casual. A smirk creeps across her face. She ducks under strikes, not even bothering to block them. This was too easy.

“What is wrong?” She taunts. “I am not even human. How hard can it be to beat me?”

He attacks her. Sloppy. She finally reaches up, grabs the sword out of his hands, yanks hard, pulling him off his feet. This is getting boring.

Nika turns, threatening him with his own sword. “You want proof?

He’s looking at her, poised, trying to figure out her next move.

“You ISA’s.” she starts slowly, still holding his sword. Nika paces back and forth in front of him, keeping a watchful eye on the cowering agent. He doesn’t seem to be wanting to escape. The agent is, despite everything, curious. He is, after all, face to face with a nex-gen. There are rumors that surround her kind. What kind of powers they have. What they look like, what they act like. How they stand out from the crowd. Some were ridiculous: red-eyed beasts, emotionless faces, able to kill with just a look. But most were fairly true. Enhanced physiology, exceptionally beautifully (maybe this one just applies to Nika), highly dangerous, psychic powered beings.

“You think you know everything about us. Obsessed with hunting down us. No care if we are innocent or not.”

“Here you are, trying to kill me. I don’t see an innocent being.” Edric sneers back at her.

“You drugged me. Experimented on me. And killed my friend. If you ask me.” Nika stops her pacing, giving him a cold glare. “This is revenge, not cruelty, not attack without meaning.”

He laughs at that. Actually _laughs._ “You’re proving me right. Proving that you nex-gens are all a bunch of killers.”

Nika clenches the sword tighter in her hands, controlling her anger. Then she lets the sword fall to the ground. She opens her palm, ready to demonstrate exactly what she’s capable.

“It is interesting. I inherited powers from my mother.” The air thickens, condenses and freezes in her palm. She’s holding a piece of hail, the size of a baseball, in her hands. Edric’s eyes widen at her display, but she isn’t done yet not by a long shot. Nika throws the ice at the wall, and it shatters just a foot from the agent’s head. “I believe you have heard of her.”

He’s looking at the wall for a long moment, then he slowly turns his gaze back to Nika. Nika slowly raises her hand to the sky. There are still clouds from her rage earlier. A small push with her powers, and they darken again. Thickening with moisture. She holds the rain back for now, wanting to intimidate him more.

“People underestimate damage weather can cause.” She murmurs, flexing her fingers. She smiles, the rain starting to splash down around them, the wind picking up. And now for the main event. Nika clenches her fist. A bolt of lightning, flashing down just inches from Edric, who dives to the side. He’s shaking, staring at the strike mark on the ground right next to him. Finally connecting the pieces of just exactly _who_ she is.

“Taisia.” It comes out as a gasp.

“Yes.” Nika confirms, voice calm.

“The bitch who started it all. She was the most dangerous Original.” Edric pushes himself back to his feet, starting to walk towards her. “She is responsible for so many deaths. I should have known.”

“My mother was killer, da.” Nika says slowly, taking a couple steps forward. “And so am I. You should not have messed with me.”

“Taisia. That means you….” He trails off, finally realizing just how screwed he is. He won’t be surviving this encounter. “That means you can do what she could do. With the weather, with the storms… you’re the most powerful of them all.”

“I will fetch heavy price, yes?” Nika sneers, giving him a cold glare. She thrusts her hand towards him, letting a gust of wind shove him backwards into the wall. “You are fool for coming after me.”

Nika suddenly unleashes the storm, wind howling around them. She gives Edric a cold glare, then the rain is coming down in sheets around them. Another bolt of lightning, causing Edric to dive out of the way.

“What’s wrong bitch?” He yells loudly over the storm. “Can’t fight me without your powers?”

Nika pauses at that. She is getting a little bit out of control here. It would be more fun to show that her powers don’t make her unbeatable. She’s trained, everyday, for hours a day, her whole life. Preparing for a moment when she has to defend herself like this. The storm slows down a little, and Nika kicks the sword back to him.

He looks shocked at that. Then he quickly scrambles to pick it up. Nika pulls her knives back out, ready to attack. Nika _wants_ him to make the first move. If he’s dumb enough to try it.

And he does. Edric comes at her. Nika is on the defensive for like .2 seconds. But then she’s done with it. She’s done with being hunted down, done with people wanting to kill her for her powers.

The game is over. Nika lunges forward now, going on the offensive for the first time. Now Edric is dropping back, desperately trying to stop her savage attack. She’s too quick for him, too skilled. He never stood a chance. The fear starting to creep into his eyes reflects what she already knows. He’s dead. He was dead from the moment he drugged her.

Nika slashes her knife across his stomach, then his arm. She follows it up by quickly slamming the blade down on his hand. His sword clatters to the pavement. Nika kicks him back, lip curled in rage. She walks quickly towards him, shoves her forearm against his throat. He’s pushed back against the wall.

Nika is practically shaking in her rage. He killed Travis…. He fuckin killed Travis….. And it’s not until he’s scrabbling desperately at her arm does she finally release him, letting him take gasping breaths.

After a moment, she grabs his shoulders and drives her knee into his chest. Nika turns sharply, paces away. Edric doubles over coughing, trying to catch his breath still. She walks over to his sword, laying on the pavement. A glance back over to her enemy-- he’s leaning heavily against the wall, shaking as he tries to breath again.

Nika leans down, picks up his sword. She turns it over in her hands, looking at it in disgust. This was the blade that killed Travis. She knows that Edric is watching her closely. May as well make the situation even more hopeless for him. And she tosses the blade off to the side, casual almost.

He’s silent, looking at her, wide-eyed. “So, what are you gonna do?” The man is pale, voice tight, with fear creeping into it. “You gonna kill me? Prove to me that all you psychics are mad, monsters.”

Nika tightens her grip on the knife in her free hand as he continues his speech.

Edric is fuckin smiling at her. “Not even human.” He sneers out.

“Maybe you’re right.” Nika says slowly. She walks back towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders this time. Pushing him back against the wall. He seems to have accepted his loss because he doesn’t fight back. Her dark grey eyes stare furiously into his terrified brown ones. She remembers this man, standing over her, draining her blood, shocking her, stabbing her…. And she can see it. See him fighting Travis, pushing that sword into his heart…

“But I don’t care.” Nika snarls, continuing to speak finally. “You drugged me. You experimented on me. And you killed my friend.”

The fear flashes across his face, but Nika doesn’t wait. She removes her forearm, and slams the knife into the side of his neck. There’s a choked gasp, hands flying up to his throat as Nika roughly yanks the knife back out. A quick death, minimal suffering-- more than he deserves.

She stands amidst the howling wind, the rain coming down in sheets, the lightning striking down still. Edric is dead, dead in a heartbeat after she removed the knife. And Nika finally releases her control of the storm as the body falls to the ground, blood running from his neck. The rain is refreshing, calming even. Her secret is still safe. Her friend is avenged. More thunder cracks, and lightning flashes across the sky, brightening it…. Just enough for Nika to see the silhouette behind her.

She turns in an instant, knives in hand once more. Her eyes narrow through the downpour, focusing on the newcomer. Tall, sturdy-built, handsome. A step forward, glaring at the figure who dared to witness her murder.

She stops instantly.

There’s a whirlwind of emotions suddenly coursing through her. It’s all connected now. How Edric knew to spy on her, to drug her, to experiment on her. How her friends got arrested and killed so shortly after. It’s because someone had figured her out, betrayed her….

The person standing in front of her, open-mouthed in shock, is someone she knows all too well.

It’s Oscar.


	15. Chapter 14: Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: This chapter switches POV's a lot and is purposefully meant to be a bit chaotic. It hopefully makes sense with everything that's going on.

“Get me out goddamnit. I’m tired of fuckin waiting.” Carla snarls furiously at Braxton, pacing back and forth. “You have these fuckin drawn out plans, and guess what? They’re not working.  I already had to wait a decade for you to get out of prison. And now I’ve waited  _ months  _ for your stupid plans to come through. Do  _ not  _ make me wait any longer.”

“Ma’am, I know, we’re trying, we just…”

“No.” She interrupts, hissing out the words in her rage. “Don’t give me fuckin  _ excuses _ . You tried to kill that one chick and failed, tried to get the agents to help and failed. Stop with your stupid side plots and get. Me. Out.”

He swallows hard, looking like he’s trying to decide exactly what to say. 

“Braxton.” Carla’s voice gets darker and she gives him a cold glare. “You know my plans when I get out. Do you wish for me to practice on someone?” 

“I’ll- I’ll let you know the moment when I can---”

“Tomorrow. Noon.”

“But that doesn’t---”

“Tomorrow I will be free. Figure it out Webb. Or you might be joining that little  _ bitch-”  _ Carla sneers that word out through clenched teeth, the intense loathing crawling up inside of her “--In chains. I don’t think you want that.”

“Tomorrow night ma’am.” He agrees, hiding his horror at the notion. “You will be free, I promise you that.”

* * *

They get lucky. For the first time, they get _lucky_.

It was just a couple days after getting rescued. Lukas was just making breakfast when it happened. They were attacked, and this time, they fuckin won. Now the rogue is tied up in the family room, ready to be questioned. 

Ricky is pacing back and forth in the kitchen, flashing glances over to the man who’s still unconscious in the chair. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“A bad feeling?” Lukas gives him an incredulous look. “We finally have a lead. Let’s go wake him up, see what we can find.”

Ricky gives him a cold glare, a quick look of concerned flashed towards Sadie. “I don’t know man.” He mutters. “I just feel like, we’re just missing something.”

Lukas ignores him, walking out to the living room. It’s time for answers. And he’s frankly terrified that his suspicions are correct. If they are, everything is going to get way more complicated. Sadie and Ricky come to join him, forming a semi-circle around the man. And then they wait.

And they wait.

An hour passes before the man stirs-- Ricky had hit pretty hard on the head. He probably had a downright nasty concussion. For a moment, the rogue blinks around in confusion. Then his eyes widen in horror: almost like he’s expecting to be punished for his failure.

“Wait!” He says, before Lukas or Ricky can talk. Lukas exchanges a confused look with his friend. He was expecting taunts, some haughty exchanges. Not a plea of desperation.  “Please, don’t, don’t hurt me okay. I was supposed to come here. I’m not one of them, just, I was just hired okay!”

Ricky steps forward, “Hired for what? What are you talking about? You’re one of Carla’s followers.” 

He’s shaking his head before Ricky even finishes speaking. “No, no, no.” The words tumble quickly from his mouth, “You’ve got it wrong. I was hired to take you out, be a distraction. I’m not one of them.” He repeats.

Lukas steps forward to stand next to Ricky, curious despite his annoyance. It’s almost like the man is willing to cooperate. But he’s not giving much away. 

Sadie talks over him, stopping Lukas from asking questions before he can even open his mouth. “And why should we trust a word that comes out of your mouth?”

Silence for a long moment after that. His eyes flicker to the floor. He looks uncomfortable, terrified even, to be caught.  _ This wasn’t part of the plan.  _ Lukas realizes. The rogue was supposed to distract them, kill them if possible. He wasn’t supposed to get caught. And now something is wrong. 

“When you say you were hired to be a distraction….” Lukas trails off, the pieces clicking together in his mind. “A distraction. For what?”

He’s still looking down at the ground. “She’ll torture me for this.”

“Boo fuckin hoo, choose your sides better then.” Ricky is getting impatient. He crosses his arms, the annoyance glittering in his gaze. “What are you a distraction for?”

Silence. It’s heavy in the room as Lukas tries to make sense of all of the pieces in his mind. Something is wrong. Something is so wrong.Lukas is about to suggest some more drastic measures to get the man to talk, when he suddenly raises his head. Blue eyes flashing at all three of them, before finally coming to rest on Lukas. 

“For her escape.”

It’s deathly quiet in the room after that. They just needed to be held back, needed to be kept out of the way. And once they were free….

“They’re attacking the prison.” It comes out as a hushed whisper, with absolute certainty. “Ricky, they’re at the prison. Now. We have to go.  _ Now.” _

How could he have been so stupid? Of course Carla was going to eventually snap and  _ demand  _ that her followers free her. Lukas can see it from their point of view. The plot to keep them far away from the prison, so that her rogues can just run on in. Get her and Chang out. And then her evil plans, whatever they might be, can finally come to pass. 

Ricky is staring for a moment, but he seems to recover from the shock quickly. “Right.” He snaps, agreeing, “Sades get this one locked up. Luke and I have to get to that prison.”

Lukas nods , and together they spring over to the door. They have to get going. “Call them up.” He snaps at his friend, grabbing down their weapons. Ricky is hurriedly shoving a backup dagger in his pocket, tossing the keys towards Luke. He catches them out of the air and they both run out of the house in a heartbeat.

Lukas drives quickly towards the prison. Ricky yelling into the phone for backup as they do. Mitch and Aiden were the only ones to respond. Lukas fights hard to swallow the growing panic as they get closer with every second. If his theories are correct…..

He floors the accelerator and flies faster down the road. When did the attack start? Are they already free? The drive is taking long, longer than normal he swears. And when they get there, Lukas doesn’t even bother to take in his surroundings. He just gets the car as close as possible to the stupid bunker. Throws it in park, turns it off. Then he leaps out. 

_ They’re too late. _

Lukas’ heart practically stops when he looks up at the prison. Certain parts are on fire. There’s a large group of rogues outside, drawing over the guards. A heavy fight has broken out, with a handful of bodies already littering the ground. He slams the car in park, casts a horrified glance over to his friend. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Lukas thought that they were finally getting a step-up on Carla. But instead, she tricked them all. 

“Inside.” Ricky’s voice is tight. “We have to get inside.”

“Luke. Ricky.” They both turn quickly to see Aiden and Mitch jogging up. Aiden looks cool and composed, as he always does, ready for battle. Mitch on the other hand, looks shocked. Like he can’t believe that the prison was under attack to this extent. He had no clue that things would spiral out of control like this. And there’s another look too, in his eyes. An almost haunted type of gleam, like he’s seeing things that no one else can.

There’s no greeting between them. They just walk over, tense nods, before focusing on the prison. 

“We have to get inside.” Lukas repeats. 

“Stick together, try to sneak in along the sides.” Aiden mutters. “We can’t get seperated here, understand?” 

Ricky nods and Lukas and Mitch both mutter an agreement. 

They approach, slowly, trying not to get caught up in the throng outside. If this fight is still going, carla must still be locked up. They still stood a chance, even if it’s a slim one. And the raging battle seems to be enough for them to start sliding by them, undetected, hoping to get into that front door. 

“Ricky!” Mitch suddenly shouts. They all turn as one. One of the rogues had spotted them, and took a massive swing at Ricky. His friend pulls his sword, and goes on the attack.

Everything descends into chaos. A few of the rogues charge over to help, and a fresh fight breaks out. And suddenly they’re being pushed back, far away from the prison exit. They’re in the middle of the throng in an instant. Guards and rogues moving around them. Swords flashing, there are screams, blood spurting into the air…. 

_ It’s chaos. _

Lukas ducks under one swing, shoving one man back with the flat of his sword. The next strike comes long and low, trying to knock the man off his feet. But a shiver up his spine makes him dive down, rolling out do the way of the sharp blade that was flashing towards his neck. 

One desperate glance back to the prison… they aren’t getting in there. His heart sinks as the realization crashes on him. She’s free, she’s free, she’s going to be free and there’s nothing he can do about it.

Another duck, another dodge. Slashing and then parrying blades away. He’s on the offensive, before immediately switching back to the defensive. Sometimes ricky is by his side, then Mitch appears. Other times it’s Aiden. There’s too much going on-- it’s all a blur. The alarms are blaring, the sun shining too bright. And they’re failing at their mission. Unable to do a goddamn thing except fight for their lives. 

* * *

The diversion works perfectly. Her men on the outside, distracting the agents and most of the guards. Only a handful came in to get her out. Unlocking the doors, breaking the bracelet that bound her powers-- and Chang’s as well. And now she’s out. Without that power-binder on her wrist, no one could stand in her way. A hundred guards could run down here now, and she could slaughter them all.

Carla strides down the prison, ahead of her followers. Chang a pace behind, like he should be. Power rushing through her. The freedom, the power, it’s  _ intoxicating.  _

She’s  _ free _ . Her powers are free. This is her world now. 

She sends a door flying open, completely off its hinges. Just for fun. Damn it’s good to use her powers again. She’s nearly unstoppable with them. There’s only one person who can  _ possibly _ stand in her way. And that little bitch will be a non factor soon. 

They continue to make their way out, walking quickly and with a purpose towards the exit. Her plan was perfect: there’s only a handful of guards still in the prison. A real shame for them. They would all be dead soon. 

One of the fools still inside draws a weapon in front of them. Carla opens her hand, the sword flying across the room, into her grasp. She loves the look of terror on his face. It’s been so long since she’s killed. 

She lets the sword hover above her hand for a moment, slowly turning the blade back towards the man. He tries to run. Carla laughs. The blade is launched across the room, piercing him straight through the back, and he drops like a stone. It would have been fun to make him scream, but he’s not a priority right now. 

The next guard has knives. Knives are more fun, some of her favorites. She gives him hope this time. Lets him get close. None of her followers try to intervene. Right before he can attack, Carla flicks her hand. The smallest of movements. 

The man is flung into the wall, knives dropping out of his grasp from the force. She waits, watches with a smile playing on her lips as he struggles to sit up. Then he scrambles desperately towards his weapons. 

Carla lets his fingertips brush the handle, before the knife is sailing across the room. Hovering above her open palm. “Oh darling.” She says softly, letting the knife fly back towards the guard. It floats at his neck. “What chance did you think you had against me?” The poor soul is completely frozen in terror. It’s a beautiful sight. If only she had time to practice. Make him scream,  _ suffer _ , but really… she just wants to be rid of this place. A quick death will do the trick. And then she pushes her hand forward, the knife stabbing the man in the throat. And they continue on their way.

* * *

Ricky’s heart is racing faster than it should be. He’s usually more relaxed in a fight. But this, this is chaos. It’s hard to keep track of what exactly is going on. Who’s fighting who. His adrenaline is going, which is a bad thing. He needs to stay relaxed, but he just can’t. Swords swirling, the sun shining off the metal, blinding him at moments. He loses track of where Lukas is, and somehow he’s fighting back to back with Mitch.

The agent is skilled with his knives, almost as skilled as he is. They seem to be doing a good job together, fending off the never-ending wave of attackers. Mitch might be an asshole, but Ricky trusts him. There’s not many others that Ricky would want to be fighting with. Mitch yells something out, about his fifteen, and Ricky manages to avoid a slashing stroke that would have sliced his sword arm straight open. 

But they aren’t making any progress. In fact, they’re being pushed back. Away from the building. The mission has changed. No longer trying to stop Carla from escaping. No longer trying to run into the prison. They’re fighting for their lives out here. The rogues are aiming to kill. 

Aiden is yelling things at the guards, trying to help them out. The prison guards aren’t highly trained agents, and they’re dropping like flies around them. It’s insane. Ricky has never been in a fight like this. Many times, the jobs were small and simple. They might be up against four or five arms dealers or a drug lord, but never a crew of twenty, thirty-some individuals. It’s a full scale battle, and ricky is starting to realize that no matter how skilled he is, numbers matter. And they’re on the losing side.

Ricky turns sharply, blocks a hit coming towards Mitch’s back. He lets out a yell: part effort, part frustration. A kick to one of them, sending hims tumbling back. He disarms another, and a third gets a nice-sized cut on his upper arm. Something swipes against his leg. But it must not be deep enough to slow him down. Or maybe that’s the adrenaline talking. 

A deep breath, a half-a-heartbeat pause to catch his breath. The sun is disorienting. Too many, there’s too many.

And then there’s a cry of pain.

And Mitch is beside him with a sword stabbed into his chest.

A glance up, the rogue yanking his sword out, out of Mitch… and Mitch falls. It’s like watching everything in slow motion. Ricky runs forward, catches Mitch before he slams on the ground. The fight still going on around him. The pavement covered in blood already, with more coming from that terrible wound to match it. He can’t seem to focus, training going out the window, as he stares at his dying friend. 

_ No. No, no, no. Please, no. _

His hands desperately close around the wound, needing to stop the flow of blood. Everything was sped up at first, with the adrenaline pumping through him. But now, it’s like everything stopped. Everything has stopped, except for the flow of blood. It’s still going and going and…

_ They lost.  _

* * *

They’re almost out when three more guards appear. Carla kills the first two instantly, her hungry gaze fixed on the exit behind them. She’s about to kill the final one, step through those doors into the sun, when Chang places his hand on her shoulder. “You going to steal all the fun?”

Carla lets out a small laugh at that, stepping aside. The poor guard is trying to appear brave. But there’s a flash of horror in his eyes as he faces them down. “Be my guest.” She offers. 

Chang, of course, must be just as eager to use his powers. He steps forward instantly, both hands held out. Tendrils of electricity fly off of them, striking down the guard. Carla can feel the familiar rush-- even though she is not the one causing pain-- of making someone scream. The agonized sounds ring through the halls. Not the screams she wants, not the exact sounds that she is looking forward to, but musical all the same. 

Her attention returns to her childhood friend, her partner in her mission. His violence and creativity will serve her well in the coming months. Chang’s face is split into a cruel smile, eyes lit up in glee as he tortures the guard: listening to the screams of pain, watching the jerking and convulsing. 

Carla intervenes finally, sending a knife flying into the guards stomach. He’ll bleed out. It will be nice and painful. No quick death for him. “Apologies dear friend.” She says curtly, “But we should save our fun.”  _ Save our fun for the one who truly deserves it.  _

The brief look of annoyance that flashes across Chang’s face switches immediately to an expression of eager anticipation. Carla smirks at that. It’s good that he shares her hate, her need for revenge, her desire to see a certain someone shattered beyond recognition. 

Then she steps over the bodies, pushes open the door. The sun streaming in. A moment to bask in her success. Then she walks out: poised, proud, shoulders rolled back. There’s still a fight going on outside. She sends a few weapons flying into the throng, killing even more guards. One of the agents looks up at her and she smiles: easy, confident. She’ll let them escape-- for now. There’s someone else that she wants to get her hands on. Someone who wronged her long ago… someone who deserves to suffer.

And there’s no rush to find her either. With the beautiful, sunny weather outside, it’s a sure sign that the girl isn’t around. But she will be. After all, the impulsive little shit will probably go on the attack once the news of Carla’s escape spreads. Carla doesn’t have to do a damn thing. Nika will come to her.

* * *

Ricky’s heart skips a beat at the smirk thrown in their direction. He puts more pressure on the terrible wound on Mitch’s chest. There’s too much blood. Lukas yells something out, a guard nearby goes down, a knife sticking out of his chest. And then Aiden is next to him, scooping up his brother. Lukas grabbing his shoulder….

“Hey!” His friend looks horrified. Ricky stares down at the blood on his hands again. It’s chaos. Complete chaos. Are his hands shaking?

He returns pressure to the wound. Mitch is groaning in pain, one bloody hand on top of Ricky’s own. His eyes are fluttering already. 

Aiden is suddenly there. How he got there, where he appeared from, Ricky has no clue. Nothing is making sense. The fight is still going. Yelling, guards going down. Rogues turning towards their master as she strides confidently towards them. Looking too healthy: way too healthy. Too confident, but why shouldn’t she be?

His hands are pushed out of the way as aiden takes over. He’s practically yelling at his brother to stay awake. And Ricky still can’t comprehend what’s going on, his brain a mess as he tries to make sense of the action all around. He sits back on his heels. Someone is grabbing at his arm yelling at him.

A punch to his shoulder finally grounds him. Just enough to see Aiden scooping his brother up and running. Ricky is staring at it before fingers are snapping in front of his face. “Ricky! Hey!” 

Ricky blinks. Once, twice, then slowly turns his head towards his friend. Lukas has blood splattered on his clothes, a ragged wound in his side. His normally narrow eyes are wide in shock, but he seems to be faring better than Ricky. Because Mitch…  _ oh God _ . Mitch. He’s….  _ Oh God _ .

Lukas is grabbing his shoulder still, and has to practically drag him to his feet. “We have to go. We have to go now.” 

Ricky glances back over, noticing the cruel smile plastered on both Carla and Chang’s face. They were free….

He nods his understanding, sprints after Lukas to the car. Aiden is setting Mitch down in the back. Lukas hops into the driver’s seat, getting them the hell out of dodge as quick as possible. Everything is starting to slow down. Like the instant peace after a storm as one takes in all the damage. The shock is subsiding, ever so slightly, enough for the reality to start setting in. Because if it wasn’t real before, it is now. The truth arranging itself before his eyes, the terrible, horrible truth that they failed. 

Lukas drives like a maniac away from the prison. And Ricky doesn’t know what to do. So he just sits there, trying to catch his breath…. And he dares to glance over at Aiden.

Aiden who’s holding Mitch’s head in his lap. His brother’s breaths are getting more shallow with each passing moment. Aiden is holding pressure on the wound, in a vain attempt to slow the blood flow. But Ricky knows that this kind of wound, it’s not survivable. He’s seen it before, and there’s no chance.

The minutes tick by in silence. Aiden is muttering softly, hands slick with blood, shaking. Ricky has never seen his mentor so unhinged before. Lukas is still driving: no destination in mind. Maybe the safehouse? Who knows. It’s clear that Lukas is just trying to get away, get far away, from the two nex-gens. The most powerful individuals on the planet. They didn’t, they can’t, no they won’t, they won’t stand a chance against them. 

And it’s strange, horrifying almost, how loud it gets when the ragged breathing stops. 

Every sound is intensified. The tires on the road, the wind rushing past, Aiden trying to keep it together. And it must be too much for Lukas too. Because his friend pulls over the car. He jumps out, retreats a little ways. And Ricky has no clue what to do. It’s all just… numb. Numb in horror over everything that just happened. He glances at his mentor, noting the look of despair, the overwhelming pain on his face as he cradles his dead brother in his arms. And he can’t stay here.

Ricky throws the door open, leaving Aiden to mourn in peace, and walks over towards his best friend. Lukas is sitting on the ground, hugging his knees, staring straight ahead. Ricky hesitates for a brief moment, before sinking to the ground next to him. His friend is just in complete disbelief over the events that conspired. 

They don’t say anything. Just silent. Someone could attack them, right now, and Ricky is certain that they would both be dead. And it seems to take forever, the sun finally starting to wane in the sky, before his friend turns a horror-filled glance over to him. He looks more defeated than Ricky has ever seen him. His voice is hollow, monotone, as he asks the question that they’ve both been thinking.

“Did we just lose?” 


End file.
